


Exponential Growth

by Autobot_Freeride



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Culture, Autobot Proctective Services, Charlotte Mearing can't deal with this, Charlotte Mearing is an asshole, Culture Shock, F/M, Gen, Human Experimentation, Ignores Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ignores Transformers: The Last Knight, M/M, Multi, Post-Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Slice of Life, Species Swap, Suddenly Siblings, Ultra Magnus can't deal with this, Unethical Experimentation, long fic, lots of characters, lots of tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 02:55:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 29,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11842491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autobot_Freeride/pseuds/Autobot_Freeride
Summary: All it takes is one bad day, to turn two good friends' lives upside down through the rabbit hole.  Now they're seeking shelter with those giant robot aliens that just destroyed Chicago to avoid further torture.  They face a singular choice adapt to what has been thrown at them or perish, while finding something they both had been looking for.*Writing was done with a friend, and started shortly after Revenge of the Fallen.  It is Dark of the Moon compliant, but ignores later movies.*





	1. Department of Health and Human Services

     In a darkened alley in Alexandria, Maryland, a carjacking was taking place.  One thief punched out the window, hissing slightly, as the glass bit passionately into her hand and arm, before unlocking the car to load her cohort into the passenger’s seat.  She quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, and searched for the keys, blood already having stopped flowing from her arm.

     After a few failed attempts at hot-wiring the engine, she pounded her head against the steering wheel, her high alto calling out, “Dammit!”  She looked over to her companion, eyes glowing slightly behind her sunglasses.  “Tree, can you work your tentacle rape magic?”  The lump of a human extended her hand, red lights appearing in her fingers, before metal tentacles pierced through her skin.  Two tentacles went under the dash, sparking with electricity, and the car started in a matter of seconds.  “Tree, you are awesome!  Now, where do we go?”  The car started to back out of the alley, with no one the wiser of the theft.

     The two tentacles retreated, as another extended through another finger, and dug into the door around the speaker.  An electronic voice filtered out, saying “Department of Health and Human Services, Washington DC.”

     The car jerked to a stop.  “What?  You want to go there?  Why?”

     The speaker let out static before repeating, “Department of Health and Human Services.”

     The driver shook her head before continuing to drive away, as the tentacles retreated back into the other’s hand.  “Whatever, I hope that those detectors don’t pick us up.”  The car executed a three-point turn before peeling away.

     Major Lennox rushed through the central command center of NEST.  In his opinion, three in the morning was too early for this shit, as he was barking out commands.  “C’mon!  We need to get a track on those energon signatures!  They can’t be Autobots, since Optimus hasn’t mentioned any new arrivals, and anything non-‘bot can’t be good!”

     A younger private spoke up from his console, “Lennox, sir, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have been sent out to track the signals.”

     Lennox ran his hand over his face.  “Okay, all teams prep for civilian and damage control.  _Don_ _’_ _t_ try and keep up with those two.”

 

* * *

 

 

     For the last two hours, the guards at the gate were watching for signs of anything interesting, since the two aforementioned Autobots sped up the ramp.  They snapped to attention, as they watched a Toyota Camry pull up to the gate, and stop as one of the guards moved to check the driver’s ID.  “Identification?”

     The brunette driver quickly looked up at the guard, grateful that the sunglasses hid her eyes.  “Look!  You’ve gotta help me!  This is the Department for Health and Human Services, right?  My friend here is ill, like, seriously ill!  She passed out about ten minutes ago, and I can’t find a hospital.  Do you have a doctor in there?”

     “Ma’am, you are at the wrong place.  We mostly store medications.  I advise that you turn around, drive three miles to the Northwest to George Washington University Hospital.”  The guard stated.

     The lump groaned in a pain-filled manner, resembling a dying animal, and the driver's voice rose with anxiousness.  “Did you hear that??  She’s dying!  Oh god!  Her mom’s gonna murder my ass.  Please, can’t you just call out some med staff?”

     “Ma’am, I suggest you calm down.”

     The car lurched forward, triggering the energon detectors, and she shrieked, “Sorry!  My foot slipped!”

     The car’s front end dipped down, and the guards rushed the car, M-16s out, and stood ready.  “Get out of the car now!”  The driver climbed out of the opened door, as her passenger fell out, and was hoisted between two other guards.  The alarms stopped, once the two were moved away from the sensors, and the soldiers were ready to open fire on the car.  The guard that held the driver looked into her sunglasses.  “Where did you get that car?”

     She looked over to her friend who nodded briefly, and pulled off her sunglasses.  “I got it in a dark alley.  We demand to see the robotic aliens.”  The guard stumbled back in alarm, as guards holding up the other woman yelled in surprise, when tentacles emerged from her hands, to destroy their guns.  The driver looked over to the guard.  “I would put that gun down if I were you.  Tree doesn’t like guns pointed at either one of us.”  He slowly lowered the M-16, and began to reach for his radio, only to be intercepted by a tentacle.


	2. Meet the ‘bots

     The guard held up his hands, as the tentacle wrapped around the radio receiver, and pulling it away slightly, electrical pulses shot down the tentacle into the activated CB-like radio.

     Optimus stood next to the open hangar that housed the communications of the human team, as an electronic voice filtered out of the speakers.  “Greetings Autobots, my comrade, and I would like offer ourselves to your protection.  We wish to avoid human intervention, and will follow the protocols instilled by your agreement with the governments of the world for Cybertronians that have been Neutrals, or Decepticons.”

     Optimus straightened, as he calmly spoke into the microphone that a technician moved closer to him, “If I may, what is your former allegiance?  And where is your current location?”

     Static came through before the answer, “Neutral, and we’re right outside.”  The techs scrambled, switching the video feed to the main gates to see the destroyed car and the two women, who both turned to the camera to wave, showing off both optics and tentacles.  “We also are in need of medical services.”

     Hiding his shock, Prime responded, “Understood.”  The tech cut the connection, as the mech turned to the others in the hangar.  “Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, let’s greet our guests.”

     “Optimus, what should we tell Mearing?”  Lennox asked, turning to the great leader.

     The last prime vented, “We are procuring information from neutrals.”  The trio then turned, and transformed, before rolling out the rear hangar doors.

     The driver turned to look down the ramp behind the gate, as a flamed blue Peterbilt, a gray and green search and rescue Hummer, and a COE Freight-liner pulled up.  She looked over to the other woman with wide eyes, who flashed an “all according to plan, Edi” look.  She calmed herself, as the trucks transformed into the aliens she remembered seeing on the news before the incident.  Edi watched as the Peterbilt bot leaned down to almost eye level with Tree, who then smartly flashed the SeeD salute, and asked, “Were you the one who contacted us inside?”

     Tree nodded, as Edi took looking between the two at a frightening pace.  Silence reigned for a few minutes, that is, until the former Freight-liner spoke up.  “Answer Prime!”

     Edi, noticing the difference between the first bot’s regal voice and the second one’s soldier styled voice, responded, “Tree can’t talk.  She hasn’t been able to since Chicago.”  The taller of the speakers shot the other a look.

     The flamed one turned his attention to the brunette, “How did you contact us inside?”

     “Tree did.”  Was the intelligent reply gesturing to the woman, who was peeking around the destroyed stolen car.

     Ratchet vented, and resisted the urge to roll his optics.  “You indicated that she has been unable to communicate for several years.”  Ultra Magnus wore an expression that clearly read, “I can’t deal with this right now.”

     The mechs went to comment, but were stopped by the sound of creaking metal, as Tree used her tentacles to rip apart one of the mostly undamaged door.  Eventually, two tentacles pulled a single speaker out, as the others retreated back into her body, and with a small electric hum, the speaker droned out, “I can talk, just not in the usual and preferred manner.”  Autobots and guards watched in awe, as the tentacles set the speaker in a hand before reemerging from her shoulder to hold the speaker out of the way.  “Sorry for contacting you in this manner, but we seek asylum, and we fear that we had to resort to an alien source.”

     The women flinched at the tingling sensation that overtook their forms, as the search and rescue hummer spoke.  “They have severe infections centered in an area at the base of their skulls, and the rest of this discussion needs to be moved into a secure area.”  Prime nodded, before he and Ultra Magnus folded into their alts, and pulled back down the ramp.  Ratchet folded down, and opened his rear doors, his voice filtering out the speakers, “Climb in.”  The two looked at each other, wondering if the events happening were real, or were they deluding themselves again.  “Hurry up; we don’t have all day, femmes.”

     Edi looked to the east to see the first rays of the sun, just to confirm the time, as Tree grabbed her hand.  “It’s a brand new dawn to our tomorrow.”  Smiling, the red head added, “And it looks brighter than what we had before.”  Edi relented, as Tree pulled her into the hummer.


	3. Who and What

     Optimus was grateful that the repair bay was kept in a separate hangar from the main core of NEST, especially when Ratchet pulled up to release the two women, and lifted them onto the medical berth.  Ratchet quickly looked down at the two.  “Now, what are your names?”

     The speaker toting red head spoke first, “Terri “Tree” Hemlock, at your service.”

     The brunette shot the other a look before following, “Edi Csatár.”

     The higher-ranking mechs watched as Ratchet nodded, before asking, “So, you’re not related?” obviously filling out a medical data file. 

     Terri shook in silent laughter.  “I’m a mutt, and she’s a Hungarian Polurk.  Of course not, why?”

     Magnus leaned forward, “Yes, I’m curious as to why you had them brought in here as well, Ratchet.”

     Ratchet vented, and looked pointedly at the two women, “I need an explanation for how _it_ happened,” then turned to Prime and Ultra, “these two are partially femmes.  Spark split twin femmes, to be exact.  From what my scan could tell, they were _born_ human, but were modified into a tech-organic hybrid through, what I am guessing were, very painful procedures.”

     Static came from Ultra Magnus in the form of a snort, as he remarked, “You need to check your scanners, old mech.  You, yourself, said that it would be impossible to integrate our servos and alloys into an organic body.”

     An argument seemed to break out between the two mechs, and the third tried to pacify them.  Eventually, the English degraded into, what most people would call, a series of computer generated beeps, clicks, whirls, and whistles, which made Edi and Tree look at each other.  Edi looked between the mechs, and her childhood friend, “They’re not speaking any Earth language.”  Terri nodded.  “And we can understand them perfectly, as if they’re speaking English.”  Terri nodded again.  “Possible reasoning, please, Miss Science Freak?”  Tree tapped her temple in a lazy fashion, making Edi remark, “Okay, I’ll give you that one, Axel-wanna-be.”  They watched, as the white one pissed off the one called Ratchet, who was brandishing a wrench at the former.  The optic bearing girl asked, “So, how do ya think we could stop this wrench fight?”

     Terri smirked.  The tentacles holding her speaker rotated, as she pulled the remains of her hair off her neck to reveal a data port surrounded by red, angry, and infected flesh.  Then, her speaker blared out a translated, and gruff, “Would ya’ll shut the hell up?”

     The three mechs looked down, shock written blatantly over their metal features.  Edi rolled her eyes.  “You three _do_ know that it is considered rude to speak in another language in front of your guests, especially since your comments were not the most pleasant.”

     The white one looked sheepish for a moment, before dropping down, almost scraping his nasal plating on the berth, to view the infected flesh on the red head’s neck.  He raised his hand up, and went to poke the red head.  “What are you two?”

     Static came from the speaker in lieu of a snort, “We _were_ human, 'til my former boss, a crazy mad scientist, and complete and utter bastard, did this to us.”

     Ratchet twirled his wrench, as Optimus leaned forward to address the femmes, “Terri, Edi, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.”

     Edi shot the leader a look, “Yeah, we know of you.  We both saw that Fallen dude on the TV, and saw your ship blow up, when the government tried to deport you.  What’s your point?”

     The Prime vented, as he sent a message for Ultra Magnus to stand down.  “Very well.  Because of your conditions, we will honor your wish to be within our jurisdiction.”  Terri smirked at Edi.  “We can only offer medical aid until you are fully functional.  If you wish to remain within our unit permanently, you will have to take up our ethics, policies, and brand.  If you attempt to betray us, you will be held accountable.”

     Terri gave a bright smile before saluting, as Edi tiredly grumbled out “Sure.”  Optimus nodded, before giving Ratchet a look, and left the repair bay.  Ultra Magnus followed, not even acknowledging the medic.

     Ratchet spun the wrench, before putting it away, “Before I go over your basic coding, and processor functions, I need for you two to tell me what was done to you.”

     Edi shot the medic a look, before giving Terri a shove.  The red head gave the brunette a confused look, and sighing Edi pointed to the curious mech, who was watching the proceedings in amusement.  Terri stuck her tongue out at her friend, before asking, “Can’t you just use the data ports to view our memory files?  It shouldn’t interfere with our programming, or put yours at risk, until you begin specifically looking for corruptions or viruses.”

     Ratchet vented, “I would prefer for you to outright tell me, because I am lacking data on how well your processors would handle the data link, as well as the strain of having your basic operations working at the same time as the memory review.”

     Terri shrugged, before poking the dozing Edi, and silently yawning.  “Well, you could do all that ya need to, while we’re asleep.  Hopefully, you have beds here, or are we supposed to sleep on the slab of metal?”

     The medic donned an ‘oh shit’ look.  “I have some polishing cloths you could use, to make beds out of.”  The two women looked at the mech, who pulled out a servo full of king sized sheets from a drawer.  After some looks, and some careful shifting of the sheets, the two women slept for the first time in days.


	4. Flashbacks: Edi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the first warning, but be wary this is the chapter features some of the gory details of medical experimentation. If this is upsetting you can skip this chapter and not miss out too much on the story.
> 
>  
> 
> You have been warned.

* * *

 

 

     Ratchet accessed the memory files for the brunette femme first, thinking her to be the more stable of the hybridized twins.  He winced at the chaos of her memory files, before activating her protocols for organization, and viewing the file labeled “Time with Tree.”  The first memory was date marked for at least ten years previously.

_A_ _sedate_ _pace_ _was_ _taken_ _into_ _a_ _small_ _Middle_ _School_ _cafeteria;_ _a_ _lunch_ _bag_ _was_ _in_ _one_ _hand_ _,_ _and_ _a_ _book_ _in_ _the_ _other._ _Scanning_ _the_ _room,_ _she_ _quickly_ _selected_ _a_ _table_ _with_ _the_ _boy_ _she_ _had_ _been_ _speaking_ _to_ _in_ _class,_ _and_ _another_ _girl,_ _who_ _had_ _also_ _brought_ _her_ _lunch._ _“_ _Can_ _I_ _sit_ _here?_ _”_

_The_ _girl_ _smiled,_ _“_ _Sure,_ _grab_ _a_ _chair._ _I_ _’_ _m_ _Terri_ _Hemlock._ _”_

_“_ _Edi_ _Csatár._ _”_

     The memory ended, another quickly came into focus some time after the first.

_She_ _was_ _sitting_ _in_ _front_ _of_ _an_ _aged_ _television,_ _speaking,_ _as_ _Terri_ _started_ _a_ _game_ _system._ _“_ _So,_ _is_ _this_ _the_ _new_ _game_ _you_ _keep_ _talking_ _about?_ _”_

_A_ _nod._ _“_ _Yep._ _I_ _thought_ _you_ _’_ _d_ _really_ _like_ _the_ _plot_ _and_ _the_ _music._ _Sorry,_ _it_ _’_ _s_ _a_ _single_ _player_ _only_ _._ _”_

_“_ _Remember,_ _I_ _’_ _m_ _not_ _that_ _big_ _of_ _a_ _gamer._ _I_ _’_ _m_ _okay_ _watching_ _you._ _”_ _The_ _two_ _girls_ _quickly_ _becoming_ _enraptured_ _in_ _the_ _game play,_ _as_ _the_ _memory_ _continued._

     Another change of memory came with a longer time skip.

_“_ _I_ _can_ _’_ _t_ _believe_ _we_ _haven_ _’_ _t_ _hung_ _out_ _since_ _December!_ _”_ _Edi_ _exclaimed,_ _apparently_ _walking_ _through_ _a_ _shopping_ _complex._

_“_ _I_ _know._ _At_ _least_ _we_ _’_ _ve_ _graduated._ _What_ _have_ _you_ _been_ _up_ _to?_ _”_ _Terri_ _asked_ _,_ _brushing_ _red_ _hair_ _from_ _her_ _face._

_Edi turned her gaze up to the ceiling making a show of organizing her thoughts.  “Well, I just got certified as a massage therapist specializing in music, teaching a small group of kids how to sing, and have been translating a couple crappy books on the side.  They publish_ anything _nowadays.  Anything exciting with you?”_

_Tree exclaimed, a bounce in her step.  “Yes!  Guess what?”_

_Edi_ _looked_ _at_ _her_ _long_ _time_ _friend._ _“W_ _hat?_ _”_

_Terri_ _shuffled_ _into_ _a_ _store_ _covered_ _in_ _graphic_ _T-shirts,_ _“_ _Well,_ _remember_ _that_ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _guy,_ _that_ _was_ _really_ _interested_ _in_ _my_ _theories,_ _and_ _work_ _with_ _teaching_ _kids_ _about_ _robotics?_ _”_

_Edi_ _rolled_ _her_ _eyes,_ _impatient_ _for_ _the_ _news,_ _“_ _Yeah._ _”_

_“_ _I_ _’_ _ve_ _got_ _a_ _job!_ _”_ _Terri_ _exclaimed,_ _clapping_ _her_ _hands_ _together_ _in_ _a_ _vaguely_ _praying_ _motion._ _“_ _I_ _’_ _m_ _running_ _a_ _series_ _of_ _transformations_ _that_ _will_ _enable_ _people,_ _who_ _have_ _rejection_ _problems_ _with_ _pacemakers,_ _to_ _safely_ _incorporate_ _inorganic_ _materials_ _into_ _their_ _bodies._ _If_ _it_ _’_ _s_ _done_ _right,_ _it_ _could_ _help_ _people_ _with_ _prosthetics_ _,_ _and_ _revolutionize_ _anti-rejection_ _drugs!_ _”_

_Edi_ _looked_ _at_ _her_ _friend,_ _turning over some_ _of_ _the_ _material_ _in h_ _er_ _head,_ _before_ _responding_ _to_ _the_ _vibrating_ _red_ _head,_ _“_ _Good_ _job,_ _science_ _freak._ _We_ _need_ _to_ _have_ _lunch_ _one_ _day,_ _so_ _you_ _can_ _show_ _me_ _your_ _lab._ _”_

_“_ _Of_ _course!_ _The_ _labs_ _are_ _awesome,_ _if_ _I_ _do_ _say_ _so!_ _”_ _The_ _memory_ _dissolved_ _into_ _the_ _rapid_ _babbling_ _of_ _Terri,_ _as_ _the_ _two_ _continued_ _to_ _shop._

     Ratchet vented, as it seemed like the memories he wished to see were being pulled from the femme’s memory core.

_The_ _two_ _sat_ _at_ _a_ _small_ _table,_ _fast_ _food_ _wrappers_ _for_ _Taco_ _Bell_ _lying_ _around_ _the_ _table._ _“_ _So?_ _Whaddya_ _think_ _of_ _the_ _lab?_ _”_ _Terri_ _asked,_ _biting_ _into_ _a_ _burrito._

_Edi_ _started_ _to_ _reply,_ _when_ _a_ _man_ _walked_ _into_ _the_ _break_ _room._ _“_ _Terri,_ _I_ _need_ _to_ _see_ _your_ _results_ _for-_ _hello,_ _who_ _are_ _you?_ _”_ _The_ _man_ _was_ _older,_ _with_ _salt_ _and_ _pepper_ _hair,_ _and_ _a_ _scar_ _running_ _through_ _his_ _right_ _eyebrow._

_Terri_ _jumped,_ _and_ _turned_ _around._ _Quickly,_ _she_ _swallowed_ _her_ _mouthful,_ _before_ _answering,_ _“_ _Oh,_ _Dr._ _Lazarus,_ _this_ _is_ _my_ _friend,_ _Edi._ _She_ _and_ _I_ _were_ _having_ _lunch._ _Anyway,_ _my_ _results_ _are_ _in_ _my_ _lab_ _book_ _,_ _which_ _is_ _on_ _the_ _shelf._ _Need_ _anything_ _else,_ _boss?_ _”_

_Dr._ _Lazarus_ _bowed_ _his_ _head_ _slightly,_ _“_ _Not_ _right_ _now,_ _enjoy_ _your_ _lunch._ _”_

_Edi_ _watched_ _the_ _man_ _walk_ _away,_ _eyes narrowed in suspicion,_ _before_ _asking_ _her_ _friend,_ _“_ _That_ _’_ _s_ _your_ _boss?_ _”_ _Terri_ _nodded,_ _as_ _Edi_ _warily commented_ _,_ _“_ _He_ _’_ _s_ _a_ _little_ _weird._ _”_ _The_ _two_ _continued_ _to_ _eat_ _until_ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _came_ _back_ _in,_ _brandishing_ _a_ _sparking_ _cattle_ _prod._ _Edi_ _started_ _to_ _alert_ _Terri_ _too_ _late;_ _the_ _man_ _knocked_ _her_ _unconscious_ _in_ _one_ _blow._ _A_ _scream_ _tore_ _from_ _her_ _throat,_ _as_ _the_ _doctor_ _gave_ _her_ _the_ _same_ _treatment_ _as_ _her_ _friend._

     The medic found himself wincing at the wet thuds from the last memory, and another came up.

_Pain._ _I_ _t_ _was_ _only_ _thing_ _registering_ _in_ _her_ _mind_ _,_ _as_ _she_ _slowly_ _opened_ _her_ _eyes._ _Everything_ _was_ _blurry,_ _until_ _she_ _struggled_ _to_ _blink_ _a_ _couple_ _of_ _times._ _When_ _her_ _vision_ _cleared,_ _she_ _wished_ _she_ _hadn_ _’_ _t_ _woken_ _up._ _Terri_ _was_ _lying_ _on_ _a_ _table_ _beside_ _her,_ _deathly_ _still,_ _with_ _something_ _plugged_ _into_ _the_ _back_ _of_ _her_ _skull._ _“_ _Ah,_ _you_ _’_ _re_ _awake._ _I_ _hope_ _you_ _’_ _re_ _having_ _a_ _pleasant_ _time._ _”_ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _stepped_ _into_ _her_ _view,_ _a_ _demented_ _smile_ _on_ _his_ _face._ _“_ _It_ _’_ _s_ _nice_ _to_ _know_ _that_ _the_ _procedure_ _worked._ _I_ _wonder,_ _have_ _you_ _noticed_ _a_ _change_ _in_ _your_ _thinking_ _capabilities?_ _”_ _Edi_ _didn_ _’_ _t_ _respond,_ _she_ _couldn_ _’_ _t._ _It_ _was_ _a_ _struggle_ _to_ _even_ _open_ _her_ _mouth,_ _as_ _it_ _seemed_ _like_ _every_ _motion_ _required_ _a_ _direct_ _thought,_ _a_ _direct_ _command._ _“_ _Oh,_ _I_ _guess_ _you_ _’_ _re_ _still_ _adjusting_ _to_ _your_ _new_ _processor._ _I_ _wonder_ _how_ _long_ _the_ _side_ _effects_ _will_ _last._ _”_ _The_ _smile_ _changed_ _into_ _an_ _even_ _more_ _sadistic,_ _gleeful_ _expression,_ _“_ _Anyway,_ _I_ _have_ _some_ _good_ _news._ _Your_ _vision_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _at_ _least_ _a_ _hundred_ _times_ _better!_ _I_ _’_ _d_ _like_ _to_ _introduce_ _you_ _to_ _my_ _little_ _buddy_ _here,_ _‘_ _cause_ _he_ _’_ _s_ _the_ _donor_ _for_ _them._ _”_ _Edi_ _tried_ _to_ _scream_ _at_ _the_ _little_ _animal_ _like_ _robot_ _that_ _the_ _mad_ _scientist_ _hefted_ _into_ _her_ _view._ _The_ _scientist_ _laughed_ _at_ _her_ _expression,_ _and_ _the_ _robot_ _released_ _a_ _keening_ _sound_ _of_ _desperation._ _Suddenly,_ _the_ _young_ _woman_ _found_ _her_ _heart_ _reaching_ _out_ _to_ _the_ _bot,_ _as_ _the_ _scientist_ _started_ _to_ _remove_ _its_ _blue_ _eye_ _like_ _organs_ _with_ _reveling_ _glee,_ _making_ _it_ _scream_ _in_ _agony_ _,_ _as_ _blue_ _liquid_ _dripped_ _down_ _its_ _face._ _Sooner_ _than_ _she_ _would_ _have_ _preferred,_ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _turned_ _back_ _to_ _her,_ _arms_ _stained_ _blue_ _up_ _to_ _his_ _elbows,_ _and_ _mounted_ _an_ _instrument_ _to_ _pull_ _her_ _eyelids_ _apart._ _“_ _Let_ _us_ _begin._ _”_ _The_ _memory_ _dissolved,_ _as_ _a_ _blunt,_ _spoon-like_ _object_ _filled_ _her_ _vision._

     Rage filled his spark at the visions that showed the scientist had not only betrayed, mutilated, and experimented on these two femmes, but he had tortured sparklings in his experiments.  Memories, that were more like images on a slideshow, began to flash across his vision: Terri lying on the table, throat slit to reveal the transplanted, malfunctioning vocal processor, the cracked open ribs of the two femmes, the scientist humming as he was elbow deep in the innards of the two humans and other sparklings.  Slowly, the medic disconnected from the femme’s processor after making a copy of the pertinent memory files, and making sure that her life support protocols were running at optimum efficiency.  With a growing sense of dread, Ratchet turned to the prone form of the femme’s twin.


	5. Flashbacks: Terri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the previous chapter this one also features some detailed gore for involuntary medical experimentation, so if you don't like to read this you can skip ahead one more chapter and not miss too much of the story.
> 
> You have been warned.

* * *

  

     Terri’s memory files were meticulously arranged in her processor.  Though what struck Ratchet the most, was the file labeled “Memories of Giant Unknown Robotic Alien,” but duty over rode the medic’s curiosity, and he looked into the memories of her time imprisoned by this Dr. Lazarus.  The memories in the file contained a theorized note of what had happened during the procedures, but it didn’t aid the ancient mech, as he watched the first memory.

 _Her_ _head_ _hurt,_ _really_ _hurt._ _With_ _a_ _strained_ _growl,_ _she_ _opened_ _her_ _eyes,_ _and_ _wished_ _she_ _hadn_ _’_ _t._ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _spun_ _the_ _scalpel_ _in_ _his_ _hand,_ _“_ _Awake_ _my_ _dear?_ _Good._ _”_ _The_ _scalpel_ _clinked_ _as_ _it_ _was_ _set_ _on_ _the_ _tray_ _just_ _out_ _of_ _her_ _vision._ _“_ _I_ _must_ _thank_ _you_ _for_ _your_ _diligent_ _work_ _in_ _the_ _non-immune_ _compromising_ _anti-rejection_ _work_ _you_ _have_ _done._ _If_ _you_ _must_ _know,_ _you_ _and_ _your_ _little_ _friend_ _are_ _the_ _first_ _test_ _subjects_ _for_ _it._ _You_ _see,_ _back_ _in_ _2007,_ _that_ _“_ _terrorist_ _attack_ _”_ _in_ _Los_ _Angeles_ _opened_ _the_ _door_ _for_ _our_ _government_ _,_ _to_ _fund_ _my_ _super_ _soldier_ _program_ _I_ _had_ _been_ _working_ _on_ _for_ _years._ _Unfortunately,_ _the_ _“_ _good_ _”_ _giant_ _alien_ _robots_ _denied_ _us_ _access_ _to_ _the_ _corpses_ _of_ _their_ _enemies,_ _and_ _dumped_ _them_ _in_ _the_ _ocean._ _I_ _haven_ _’_ _t_ _had_ _the_ _chance_ _to_ _work_ _on_ _the_ _program_ _until_ _the_ _incident_ _in_ _Egypt,_ _but_ _thankfully,_ _my_ _contacts_ _still_ _in_ _the_ _government_ _gave_ _me_ _the_ _materials_ _I_ _needed._ _But_ _every_ _time_ _I_ _attempted_ _to_ _improve_ _my_ _test_ _subjects,_ _their_ _bodies_ _rejected_ _the_ _new_ _parts,_ _and_ _died._ _That_ _didn_ _’_ _t_ _sit_ _well_ _with_ _my_ _contacts,_ _who_ _were_ _eventually_ _sacked._ _But_ _then,_ _Chicago_ _happened,_ _and_ _I_ _gained_ _new_ _contacts_ _that_ _provided_ _me_ _with_ _live_ _parts,_ _and_ _what_ _I_ _needed_ _to_ _make_ _the_ _procedures_ _to_ _work._ _”_ _He_ _grabbed_ _a_ _shrieking_ _metallic_ _body_ _by_ _the_ _neck,_ _and_ _hefted_ _it_ _into_ _her_ _vision,_ _“_ _These_ _hatchlings_ _are_ _worthless_ _to_ _my_ _contacts,_ _but_ _if_ _I_ _could_ _make_ _their_ _parts_ _into_ _hundreds_ _of_ _easily_ _controlled_ _human_ _warriors,_ _then_ _their_ _enemies_ _would_ _be_ _powerless_ _to_ _stop_ _them._ _The_ _challenge_ _was to figure out_ _how_ _to_ _make_ _the_ _human_ _body_ _stop_ _rejecting_ _the_ _new_ _parts,_ _and_ _that_ _is_ _when_ _you_ _came_ _along._

 _“_ _As_ _you_ _know,_ _you_ _were_ _the_ _best_ _in_ _your_ _class_ _for_ _performing_ _successful_ _gene_ _transformations,_ _and_ _that_ _is_ _why_ _I_ _chose you_ _to_ _make_ _the_ _serum_ _needed_ _to_ _prevent_ _the_ _rejection._ _Now_ _that_ _you_ _’_ _ve_ _made_ _it,_ _I_ _no_ _longer_ _have_ _a_ _use_ _for_ _you,_ _aside_ _from_ _being_ _my_ _first_ _test_ _subject_ _with_ _your_ _miracle_ _serum._ _”_ _He_ _threw_ _down_ _the_ _hatchling,_ _making_ _it_ _scream_ _in_ _pain,_ _before_ _kicking_ _it_ _aside,_ _to_ _get_ _better_ _access_ _to_ _his_ _helpless_ _specimen._ _“_ _You_ _should_ _be_ _honored,_ _you_ _’_ _re_ _the_ _first_ _of_ _a_ _new_ _breed,_ _and_ _your_ _friend_ _will_ _be_ _the_ _second._ _Now,_ _let's_ _begin._ _”_ _The_ _scalpel_ _was_ _back_ _in_ _his_ _hand_ _with_ _a_ _flash,_ _and_ _without_ _preamble,_ _he_ _easily_ _slit_ _across_ _her_ _throat,_ _making_ _her_ _blood_ _gush_ _out_ _like_ _a_ _fountain._

     The memory quickly changed and settled on another one.

 _She_ _couldn_ _’_ _t_ _scream,_ _not_ _a_ _single_ _sound_ _could_ _come_ _out_ _of_ _her._ _Her_ _voice_ _was_ _gone._ _The_ _poorly_ _done_ _stitches_ _on_ _her_ _throat_ _would_ _catch_ _on_ _her_ _skin,_ _as_ _she_ _looked_ _over_ _to_ _the_ _face_ _of_ _her_ _former_ _employer,_ _while_ _he_ _typed_ _away_ _on_ _a_ _keyboard._ _Her_ _neck_ _and_ _skull_ _ached,_ _and_ _she_ _swore_ _she_ _had_ _heard_ _metal_ _scrape_ _against_ _metal_ _when_ _she_ _turned_ _her_ _head._ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _came_ _over_ _from_ _the_ _computer_ _monitor,_ _and_ _ignoring_ _her_ _,_ _he_ _grabbed_ _something_ _from_ _behind_ _her_ _head._ _Immediately,_ _Terri_ _felt_ _violated,_ _as_ _something_ _was_ _shoved_ _into_ _the_ _back_ _of_ _her_ _neck,_ _and_ _sent_ _bone_ _-jarring_ _jolts_ _of_ _electricity_ _down_ _her_ _spinal_ _cord,_ _and_ _across_ _her_ _body._ _This_ _continued,_ _as_ _she_ _thrashed_ _against_ _the_ _restraints_ _until_ _unconsciousness_ _claimed_ _her_ _again._

     Ratchet thought back to the time he had fallen into the electric wires in the Witwicky’s back yard, and as an inorganic being, he found the experience somewhat enjoyable.

 _A_ _boot_ _up_ _sequence_ _appeared_ _in_ _her_ _mind_ _’_ _s_ _eye_ _before_ _she_ _was_ _able_ _to_ _open_ _her_ _eyes._ _Pain_ _still_ _came_ _in_ _waves_ _across_ _her_ _form,_ _but_ _panic_ _over_ _rode_ _that_ _feeling, when_ _she_ _noticed_ _her_ _covering,_ _that_ _had_ _been_ _on_ _her_ _chest,_ _had_ _been_ _removed._ _“_ _I_ _thought_ _that_ _the_ _anesthesia_ _would_ _have_ _knocked_ _you_ _unconscious._ _Another_ _dose_ _is_ _in_ _order_ _then._ _”_ _A_ _needle_ _entered_ _her_ _neck,_ _and_ _was_ _quickly_ _removed,_ _after_ _ejecting_ _its_ _contents._ _Dr._ _Lazarus_ _then_ _wheeled_ _something_ _alongside_ _the_ _table_ _before_ _coming_ _to_ _a_ _rest_ _against_ _the_ _table._ _Fighting_ _the_ _effects_ _of_ _the_ _drug,_ _Terri_ _looked_ _over_ _to_ _what_ _had_ _been_ _rolled_ _up_ _next_ _to_ _her._ _A_ _hatchling_ _was_ _lying_ _flat_ _on_ _its_ _back_ _on_ _another_ _dissection_ _table,_ _glowing_ _blue_ _eyes_ _bright_ _with_ _fear,_ _and_ _a_ _wire_ _sparking_ _in_ _its_ _throat_ _,_ _as_ _it_ _looked_ _like_ _it_ _wanted_ _to_ _scream._ _She_ _felt_ _sorry_ _for_ _the_ _little_ _one,_ _the_ _child,_ _the_ _infant,_ _and_ _wanted_ _to_ _do_ _nothing_ _but_ _hold_ _it,_ _and_ _hide_ _it_ _from_ _the_ _horrors_ _it_ _will_ _soon_ _see._

 _That_ _’_ _s_ _when_ _she_ _felt_ _the_ _odd_ _sensation_ _of_ _her_ _skin_ _being_ _pulled_ _away,_ _like_ _a_ _peeling_ _sunburn._ _She_ _turned_ _to_ _look_ _at_ _the_ _scientist,_ _and_ _watched_ _in_ _fascinated_ _horror,_ _as_ _her_ _ribcage_ _was_ _laid_ _out_ _to_ _the_ _open_ _air._ _Then,_ _a_ _vice_ _was_ _lowered_ _into_ _the_ _gap_ _between_ _the_ _ribs._ _Popping_ _and_ _crunching_ _sounds,_ _that_ _would be_ _disturbing_ _for_ _anyone_ _to_ _hear,_ _tore_ _into_ _the_ _air,_ _making_ _the_ _hatchling_ _thrash_ _on_ _its_ _table,_ _as_ _her_ _ribs_ _were_ _slowly_ _pried_ _apart._ _The_ _scalpel_ _flashed_ _again_ _as_ _her_ _pericardial_ _sack_ _was_ _cut_ _open,_ _and_ _with_ _an_ _almost_ _reverent_ _expression,_ _Terri_ _watched_ _her_ _heart_ _be_ _pulled_ _from_ _her_ _chest._ _It_ _twitched_ _sporadically,_ _losing_ _the_ _pressure_ _to_ _effectively_ _pump_ _her_ _blood,_ _as_ _the_ _hatchling_ _thrashed_ _even_ _harder,_ _sparks_ _sizzling_ _against_ _the_ _table's_ _surface_ _with_ _its_ _attempts_ _to_ _scream._ _Darkness_ _claimed_ _her_ _with_ _the_ _image_ _of_ _her_ _still_ _beating_ _heart_ _embedded_ _in_ _her_ _mind._

     Ratchet ended his foray into the memories of the two femmes, once again copying the files for a report to Prime, and continued onto the basic systems check.  Like Edi, Terri’s life support protocols were running optimally, and with a slight trepidation, the mech copied the file that had caught his attention earlier, for later review.  He vented, and moving quietly as to not disturb the recharging femmes, he activated his comlink, copying and encoding the memory files.

     “What can I do for you, old friend?”  Optimus asked over the communications line.

     Ratchet transformed down into his alt mode, and parked in a small nook, “I have copied the memory files of the femmes involving the experimentation that hybridized them.  I’m sending them to you now.”  Ratchet could almost sense the wrath, and anger rising within the prime.  “I will keep them within the repair bay until I am certain of their condition.  I am concerned with rejection becoming a life-threatening issue.”

     “Understood.  Hopefully Mearing will not interfere until our business is done.”  Optimus sent back before cutting the connection.  Lowering himself on his axles, the medic started a system defrag, as he contemplated the process of reformatting the femmes, if it would come to it.


	6. Stuck in the Repair Bay

     The medic didn't hesitate to brandish his wrench to any human or fellow Autobot, which would accidentally reveal the femmes, and certainly did not tolerate Sideswipe and Sunstreaker poking around the door.  The infamous twins were poking around the door, because, earlier, when the hybrids had awoken, they expressed the need for human fuel.  Ratchet then had a brief electronic argument with which Terri and Edi had assumed to be either Prime, or that white freight-liner, prior to the appearance of a silver mech in the door holding two trays, miniscule in the mech's hands.  Terri began snickering at how quickly Ratchet attempted to close the door on the mech, the action making the mech try harder to enter, and Edi shot her companion an annoyed look. 

     Ratchet handing the trays to the third set of twins he’d ever seen in all his vorns, wondered aloud, “I was wondering about that.”

     Terri cocked her head in curiosity, mouth already full of food and too lazy to use her tentacles to grab her speaker.  Edi asked, “About what?”

     “Can you not communicate through your bond?”  The mech tentatively asked, making sure to squat down to their level, to appear less intimidating.  The angle of Terri’s head increased, and her 'twin' shot him a confused look.  He vented.  “Do you know what it means to be split spark twins?”  Edi quickly shook her head, and the red head thought for a moment, before shaking her head as well.  Ratchet watched the two continue to refuel for a moment, before explaining, “The sparks that were placed into your bodies to replace your human hearts are two halves of a whole.  Our species does not have the same sense of familial ties as humans do, so the closest we can get to human relations in siblings is when multiple sparks were given to the pair of creators, or, when upon receiving a spark, the spark divides into two halves, and develops into two mechs or femmes.”

     Terri swallowed, tentacles already encircling her speaker.  “So, does this bond originate from the splitting of the spark?  Also, what does this bond entail?  And how do creators receive sparks?”

     Venting, Ratchet immediately decided that Terri was to be kept away from Wheeljack and Perceptor for as long as possible, as the femme would be insatiable in her questioning to understand.  “Yes, and as far as my experience of being the Chief Medical Officer of now three sets of spark split twins goes, the bond allows you two to keep track of each other, each others' emotions, and communicate across it.  It could also be used as a medical tool, if either of you were to be harmed, to help pull the injured twin back from the brink.”  Edi listened to the news intently, and Terri seemed to memorize everything he said.  “As for how creators would receive sparks, on Cybertron, we had an artifact: The Allspark.  It provided new life, sparks, to our kind.  Unfortunately, it was lost in the battle of Mission City, and we do not know of the way those hatchlings in your memories came to be.”  Terri quickly turned contemplative, and seemed to eat on in a mechanical sense, while her brunette twin seemed to turn solemn at the memory.  “Don’t concern yourselves over the issue.  Your memories have already given Optimus hope for the future, and Wheeljack and Perceptor are already working on imitating the process.”

     As Edi seemed to try, and reach across this ‘bond’ they shared, the red head ate for a little bit then commented, “So, we’re essentially an unknown.”

     Ratchet was stunned a little at the red head’s perceptive abilities, and asked Edi, “Is she always like this?”

     “She’s a scientist, what do _you_ think?”  Edi remarked.  Terri smiled at the comment, and gave a tilt of her nonexistent hat.

     Ratchet refocused his optics in the manner several of the soldiers associated with rolling their eyes, as he thought miserably, “ _Twins_.  No matter the gender, no matter the age, no matter the species, they’re always a pain in my aft.”

     “So, Ratchet.  What’s the plan?  I mean, you did the basic systems' checks.  Does that mean we are done?”  Edi wondered her finished tray set to the side.

     “The plan, as it currently stands, is for you two to stay within the repair bay, until I am certain that the human aspects of your anatomy will not reject your Cybertronian aspects, and that your bond is strengthened to the condition it should be in.”  Ratchet replied, before turning to his workbench to run diagnostics on his tools.

     The speaker hummed, “Are we just supposed to sit here, and wait for something to happen?  I mean, I get twitchy if I don’t have anything to do.”

     Venting, the ancient mech answered, “I’ll see what I can do.”  Eventually, the femmes were given not only the basic hygienic supplies, but were also sat in front of a data pad containing a brief Cybertronian first aid data packet.

     A couple of weeks passed with the femmes staying within the medic’s company, learning what they needed to know, in case they had to be reformatted, though it was looking unlikely for now.  The two even decided to take up the brand of the Autobots, and despite most of their frames being organic, had the red emblem tattooed on opposite shoulders.  They also learned sign language to overcome Tree’s disability without the use of her tentacles and a speaker.  Even their bond had strengthened to the point that, within an area the size of a Boeing 747 hangar, they could sense each other, though there was no communication yet. 


	7. Guardians?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO! First interactions with the twins! Enjoy.

 

* * *

 

     Ratchet vented from his place, observing the twin femmes in their studies.  Mentally, he commented to himself, “Twins, the more hours in their presence, the more I vent.”  He knew they were getting tired of the constant medical and historical data input, and hoped that, sooner rather than later, something would be done.

     Minutes ticked by, until the ancient mech received a message from Optimus, “Ratchet, what is the condition of the femmes?”

     Ratchet sent static over the link, “I’m having difficulties keeping them entertained.  Has a solution been decided on?”

     Prime ignored the famed, ill-tempered berth-side manner.  “They will be treated similarly to our human allies, but under our strict jurisdiction, and given guardians, more specifically guardians who can relate to their unique situation, and lend them assistance with it.”

     The medic balked, “You can’t mean-”

     Optimus sent a chuckle, “I told them to report to you for their next assignment.  They should be arriving soon.”  The link quickly closed, leaving the medic to realize that the women were watching him curiously.

     Biting the bullet, the mech said, “You’ve been assigned the two pit spawns of Unicron for guardians.”  He hurriedly translated the flailing of Terri’s fingers to answer, “They are meant to protect you, and assist you two in strengthening your bond.  Currently, you are the most fragile, and youngest of us on Earth, and extremely rare in our long history.  We will protect you with our sparks.”  He promised, and helped the two down onto the floor, standing protectively over them, as engines could be heard growling down the large hallway.  “You will still receive lessons from me, but I can assure you that the topics will vary, once the others know of your existence.”

     “Others?”  Edi asked cautiously, but was drowned out by the roaring of powerful engines on the other side of the hangar doors.  The doors rolled, opened by an electronic command, revealing twin centennial corvettes, silver, and gold, making Tree wolf whistle.  One could not deny the red head was a corvette fanatic, and the cars before her were the rarest concept models that were scrapped and replaced with the remake of the classic stingray chassis type.  The vehicles stopped outside Ratchet’s personal bubble, and transformed.

     The silver one quickly asked, “What’s up Hatchet?  Prime told us to get our next assignment from you.”

     Gold asked, “I mean we’re not being made into guinea pigs for some approved tech from Wheeljack?  Right?”

     Ratchet idly noticed Tree signing to Edi, who seemed to be rolling her eyes at the beaming woman.  “First, download the data for American Sign Language.”  Confusion rippled across the Cybertronian twins’ facial plating, and their optics dimmed as they did so.  Once finished, the medic motioned to the mechs as part of the introduction, “Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, I want you two to meet the other set of twins, Terri and Edi.”

     One wheeled foot swiveled back, as Sideswipe leaned down to look at the twins, and commented in his native tongue, “Uh, Ratch, they don’t fit the human definition of twins.”

     Edi gave a faint huff of annoyance, “Well, we’re not exactly human.”

     Sideswipe jumped back in surprise.  Sunstreaker, watching his twin in slight annoyance, agreed, “Definitely not normal.”

     Terri waved an arm to catch the silver mech’s attention, and, upon receiving it, signed out, “I love your car form!”

     “Thanks lil’ lady.”  Sides smirked as much as an Autobot could, and commented to Sunstreaker over their bond, “Told ya I was a chick magnet.”

     Sunny shuttered his optics, remarking back, “You can keep the squishies, give me a femme with a good frame any day.”

     Almost as if Ratchet had hacked into their bond, the medic stated, “You two have been made the guardians of these two, seeing as you’re the only other pair of Cybertronian twins in the universe.”  The two mechs turned on the master of the wrench, who quickly remarked, “Don’t believe me, then scan them yourselves.  I have better things to do.  I’ll send their belongings to your hangar later this evening, and a data packet on their condition.  Girls, don’t forget to finish your data packet before you recharge.”  Ratchet then stalked into the depths of the repair bay, taking the overdue inventory of spare parts.

     Edi looked up at the two mechs suspiciously, “You know, you two don’t seem as dangerous as Optimus Prime, Magnus, or even Ratchet.  How can we be sure that you’ll be able to protect us?”

     Terri looked at her twin with a slightly astonished look, as the mechs glared at her, before desperately signing, “Ignore her!  She’s still a little hesitant to trust after what we’ve been through.  She didn’t mean anything by it.”

     Unfortunately, the red head was ignored, as Sides grabbed the femmes gently, and rolled out with Sunstreaker leading the way.  Sunstreaker sent a message for the Wreckers to meet the twins for a little sparring in the area set up for the Autobots.  Sideswipe set the femmes down on a raised platform, and before he turned to the three mechs that were standing by, said, “You two stay there, and watch.”

     Leadfoot shifted on his short legs, “Oi, what’s with the wee lasses?”

     Roadbuster shifted to look around the approaching Sideswipe, “Why do they have the Autobot brand?”

     Lowering himself into stance, Sides answered, “They’re the new twins, and we’re their guardians.”

     The red NASCAR Impala laughed, gaining the attention of the women, “You two?  Guardians?  No wonder you lads need to prove yourselves in a spar.  Lasses, you’re gonna have your hands full!”

     Edi looked at Tree, “Those three seem kind of rude.”  Shrugging, Tree oozed the word “meh.”

     Sunstreaker growled, “Enough chit-chat, we wanted a spar.”  With that said, the spar was under way.  Terri was drawn to the smooth and graceful lines of Sideswipe, as he flipped and twisted through the three bots, and Edi was impressed by Sunstreaker’s power, strength, and sheer grit.  The twins moved in opposing styles that wove together like fine silk obis, and drew the Wreckers into their deadly dance, making the femmes begin to trust their new guardians absolutely.

     At the end of the fray, Terri looked at Edi, hands moving shakily, “I can’t wait till we can do that.”

     “That was incredible.”  Breathed Edi in agreement.

     Sunstreaker stalked over to the amazed girls, “Now do you believe that we’re just as dangerous as Prime, Ultra Magnus, or Ratchet?”  The mostly humans nodded enthusiastically.  Sideswipe rolled up beside his brother, and gave him a smug smirk.

     “Now, anything you little ladies wanna say before dinner?”  Sides asked, making sure to keep the red haired one in his sights.

     Tree smiled, hands flowing through motions for an old song, “Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other is gold.”

     Edi smirked, and sang along to her best friend’s hands, “The circle is round.  It never ends, 'n' that’s how long I want to be your friend.”  She then gave the hanging hand a hi-five, as the twin mechs looked on curiously.  “Girl Scouts.  Don’t ask boys, don’t ask.”

     Silently laughing, Terri added, “Ya wouldn’t understand it anyway.”

     Sunny looked at his brother, as Sideswipe lifted up the women, and asked through the bond, “So, I guess we’re going through with this assignment?”

     “Bro, if we were the pair of twins that were suddenly thrust into the situation they’re in, wouldn’t you want someone, who at least knows a part of what you’re becoming, there to help?”  Sides asked, as the two walked/rolled, into their hangar of a room.

     Sunstreaker vented, as he was connived into retrieving the fuel for the femmes, “Okay Sides, I’ll help.  Just till we get them on their peds or they reformat.”


	8. Night-y Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gears are starting to turn, and stress rears its ugly head.

 

     Once again, the twin femmes found themselves staring up at a true Cybertronian, or two in this case, as Edi asked, “What do you mean the cots from the Repair Bay were not brought over?”

     Their data pad was leaned against the wall, and clothing arranged into two tubs, one pristine, and the other not so much.  Other items that were given to the two were hidden beneath their clothing, but the two weren’t focused on the small things.  Sides grimaced, “Hatchet said he was keeping them, in case you two were hurt.  He said that two more beds were on the way, but you probably don’t care about that.”

     Terri sighed, almost feeling Edi’s frustration, “Please tell me you two have polishing cloths, or something we can use for sleeping?”

     Edi turned on her twin, “You know, when you thought it would be a good idea to come over here, you never mentioned that we would be stuck without a proper bed to sleep in!  I mean come on!  Three years of living hell, and your brilliant idea leads us to this!”  One could see that the brunette's emotional control was slowly failing; weeks of exhaustion, fear, pain, and constant running were bubbling to the surface.

     Terri’s face arranged into a snarl, and though unable to growl as she normally would, she angrily signed back, “Well, would you rather have some hospital, or someone we don't know, turn us into science experiments after we just escaped _that_?  At least here, we have people here that accept us, and want to help us.  They will not stab us in the back!”

     The brunette looked up to the red head, ripping off her sunglasses to show her optics, “Who’s to say that the government would even take an interest in us with these guys around?  THEY were deported, because the government didn't see fit to trust them, when they got it into their heads that the bots were no longer useful!  How do we know THEY,” she then gestured vaguely to the twins in the room, “won't do the same to us?”

     Sunstreaker jerked his leg up from hanging off the berth, when tentacles suddenly shot out of Terri’s shoulder, and digging through her messy crate, she pulled out an abused speaker.  “Uh, hello?  We were citizens, the Cybertronians ain’t, we were free game!  They could’ve easily declared us dead, and did anything and everything they wanted!  And you know what?  The government wouldn’t have to answer to the people like Lazarus had to!  We would be Grade A dead meat, ready for consumption, if we didn’t come here!  And why would _they_ leave us?  These are the good guys remember?  The ones that want to _save_ humans!”

     Sideswipe intervened, as the twins were getting ready to pummel each other, like Skids and Mudflap used to do.  His silver hands made a wall between the two.  “Calm down.”  The two looked at him.  “Look, take opposite sides of the room.  We’ll make some beds for you, so just cool off.”  A growl came from the speaker, as tentacles tried to pull the crate over to the other berth, the one that was assumed the silver bot’s.  Sides responded quickly to the look he received, and helped move the red head's crate over to his side of the room, before reaching into their stash of polishing cloths, and quickly assembling something akin to a mattress.

     As Edi settled on her mattress that was next to the human sized ladder, at the top of the berth, Sunstreaker gave his brother a look, before using their bond to ask, “What do we do now?  They obviously won’t work this out on their own for a while, and their bond is still so weak.”

     Sides restrained himself from a visible gesture, as Tree settled onto the mattress he was resting near.  “Talk with her, and distract her.”

     “About what?”  Sunny asked, as Edi climbed up onto the berth to sit next to him, and to move further away from Terri.

      Sides sat down, “Ask her about herself, or tell her about us.”  He then turned his attention to the red head on the mattress, “So, what do you do for fun?”

     Terri shrugged, tentacles placing the speaker back into the crate.  “Play videogames, read, watch movies, listen to music, outdoorsy stuff, work in my smithy, and engage in an occasional science project.”

      “Really, you run a smithy?” came the disbelieving question.

      A smirk covered her face, “Well, it’s mostly an old fashioned sword making forge, but nobody expects a girl to pound heavy metal.”  Sunstreaker listened to his brother succeed in his attempts, and looked down at the other twin, sitting by his side against the hangar wall.

     Tired of the awkward silence, Edi sighed, “How do you put up with your brother?”

     “I give him a chance to explain himself, and if he really does piss me off, he knows, and does something to make up for it.”  Sunny answered, looking away from the femme.

     “I still don’t see why she thought it was such a great idea to come here . . . no offense to you guys, but why?”

     Sunstreaker took his turn to vent, “When your bond gets stronger, like how mine and Sides' is, you won’t have as much of an issue to understand, and trust each other.”

     Edi looked up at the golden bot, “You think she did it to protect me?”

     Sunny nodded, “Yes, I could see it in her optics.  Anyway, you two just need to work together, because both of you are the only thing each other has.  You’ll know this when you can really feel each other through your bond.”

     Eventually the two made up, and although they kept their crates on the side of the room belonging to the twin they have been speaking with, they moved the mattresses together as a truce.  Sideswipe took door watch for the first night in his alt mode, and Sunstreaker kept his position of relaxing on his berth, as the women snuggled into the faintly citrus smelling silk and cotton cloths.  By the middle of the night, Sides was fully devoted to planning his next prank, and Sunny was sketching on his datapad.  Suddenly, Terri jerked, and fell off the mattress.  The mostly asleep woman gathered up her blanket.  After looking around sleepily, she quietly padded over to the Centennial Corvette convertible concept, and climbed over the door and into the passenger’s seat, making the twin cease all processes.  Sides poked his brother over their bond.

     Sunny looked up from the data pad, and his latest work of art, “What is it?”

     Using the bond, Sides hushed his brother, asking, “One of them is inside me, isn't she?”

     “Apparently,” Sunstreaker sent back, and issued a brief scan over the already back to sleep woman, “Terri is.  All I can guess is that she had a nightmare, and didn’t want to disturb Edi.”

     Sides compared his scan against Sunny’s, “You know, I think it wasn’t just a nightmare.  Her spark pulses have calmed since we started talking.”

     “Failure to reach Edi over the bond?”  Sunstreaker guessed, as Sideswipe sent a feeling of agreement over the bond.  “I’ll let the Hatchet know about this.”


	9. Formal Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeap, big introduction chappie, but some fun with Mearing first. She is surprisingly easy to write. Also, there is a car joke that may not be noticeable, so the joke is marked and a note at the end explains it.

 

     Two days had passed, and the soldiers stationed in N.E.S.T. had become accustomed to catching glimpses of the twins around base with two women.  Today was also the check up with Ratchet about the now multiple occurrence of one girl being unable to reach the other, and one of them snuggling up to the twin of their choice.  Ratchet looked at the two women, as they stood on his examination berth, the examination already almost over.  “I looked over your scans, and I’m afraid the drug you had made, Terri, is leaving your systems.  Rejection is beginning to affect your operational status, and as your medical officer, I must stress the importance of you reformatting into proper frames.”  The ancient mech went to say more, but a yell was heard across the repair bay.

     “Ratchet!”  Ratchet turned to look at the commanding female voice, and saw the aging director stalk his way.

     “Director Mearing, I was not informed of your visit.”  Ratchet began politely, and gestured for the twins to move out of Mearing’s range of view.  “How may I be of assistance?”

     Mearing ignored the politeness of the mech; she was hunting for answers.  “What is this I’ve been hearing about you requesting human medical tools?”

     Ratchet watched the woman climb up onto the elevated walkway that went around the main corridors of the N.E.S.T. bases, and discreetly moved to block the women from view.  “Wheeljack has proposed several projects to Prime, and with the mech’s track record, I thought it would be best to be prepared to take an overflow of people caught in the blast.”

     Mearing stared at the green and gray mech, “How kind of you.  And what about the twins carrying two women out of the repair bay, and around base?”  Ratchet sent a desperate message to Prime, and heavy footsteps were soon heard outside the door.

     “I’m afraid that would require the authorization of Prime, Director Mearing.”  Ratchet stated shortly, before Optimus walked in.

     Optimus nodded at Ratchet, and addressed the human.  “Director Mearing, you wanted information from one of my mechs?”

     “Yes, I came to investigate the reports I’ve received about the twins carrying two women around the base.  If there’s been a security breach, the men at our end must be informed, and the intruders questioned.”  Tree looked at Edi, both women sharing a look. 

     Venting, Prime stated, “That won’t be necessary.  Twins, you can come out now.”  The women walked out from behind Ratchet, making Mearing glare at them, and then at Optimus.

     “What is the meaning of this, Optimus?  These are not twins, nor are they part of your Autobots.”  Mearing started.

     Edi glared at the older woman, “Not a part of the Autobots?  Ma’am, you are clearly out of the loop.”  The two revealed their tattoos, as well as their more Cybertronian aspects, making the Director jump back in shock.

     Optimus quickly stepped in, before Mearing could start another rant.  “Director Mearing, allow me to introduce the Pretender twins.  Femmes, this is Director Mearing, our main contact with the humans.”

     Terri gave a fake smile, and signed out, “Greetings.”

     “What?  She can’t speak?”  Mearing asked the medic.

     Ratchet quickly took command of the situation.  “They’ve been extensively damaged during their time on Earth, and currently cannot leave their Pretender forms.  In fact, I’m afraid we will have to reformat them, in order to ensure their survival.”

     Prime nodded, as the confused human asked, “Reformat?”

     “A fairly common procedure on Cybertron before, and during the war.  It involves the transfer of a mech or femme’s spark and processor into a new, undamaged frame, in order to save their spark.  Unfortunately, we currently do not have the parts to complete the new frames we need.”  Ratchet explained, making sure the last part was understood.

     Optimus turned his full attention to his old friend, “Where do you suggest we obtain the parts?”

     Venting, the medic answered, “I would recommend searching the remains of the Ark, as most of the pieces of the Decepticons from three years ago have begun to lose structural integrity.  Also, if I recall correctly, several femmes were a part of that crew.”  Ratchet explained.

     Charlotte looked at the two mechs, not even caring about the twins.  “You want to take the Axalon out of our atmosphere for a parts run?  Those parts are older than the parts from Chicago.  How could they be stronger?”

     Tree smirked, and started signing out, “Easy, you even answered yourself-”

     Mearing looked at the woman, and then asked the bots, “Excuse me, but can we get a translator?  I don’t speak nonmilitary hand signals.”

     Edi sighed, “My sister is saying that you just answered your own question.  The atmosphere can have adverse effects on technically dead protoforms and parts, causing them to decay.  Space is a vacuum that, since we can navigate it without the aide humans require, does an excellent job of preserving protoforms.”  The director shot a look at the women, and Edi added, “Before you ask, she dabbles.”

     Mearing then stalked back down the ladder.  “Great, another Wheeljack!  Prime, your trip is approved take the Assholes off base for a while!”

     Ratchet looked over to Optimus as Mearing left, the door sliding shut behind her, “I’m prepping for the trip.  You can introduce them to the others.”

     Prime chuckled at his medic’s usual manner, and offered a hand to the two femmes.  “Understood.”  He then began broadcasting a message for the Autobots on base, to meet in the hangar.

     “Get out of my Repair Bay, then!”  Ratchet yelled, a wrench spinning in his servo.  Optimus was quick to leave, making the hybrids hang onto his thumb for support.

     Setting the women on an Autobot sized shelf, Optimus stood nearby, as the mechs filtered into the room.  Terri smiled, and waved to Sides, who rolled over along with his twin to stay near their charges.  Prime smiled slightly at the action.  “I’m sure you are all curious as to why I had you meet here.  Mechs, these are Terri and Edi, the femme twins.  They will be reformatted soon, and will then choose their designation, as is our custom.  Please accept them into our cohort, and feel free to introduce yourselves.  It may also be beneficial for you to download information for sign language.”

     Ultra Magnus gestured to himself.  “You should remember me.  My designation is Ultra Magnus, and currently, the Autobot third in command.”

     The femmes watched a monochromatic mech with door wings bow, “Prowl, second in command and tactician,” which prompted Edi to return to bow, recognizing a Japanese custom, and wondering how the bot knew about it.

     “Lasses, I’m Leadfoot,” the targeted mech thumbed to his green companion, “that’s Roadbuster,” and then to the silent blue mech, “and this aft hole is Topspin.  Hope ye get better, lasses.”

     Terri smirked, and signed out “thanks,” while Edi sent them a wave and a smiling “hey.”  A yellow and black bot quickly took notice, and played from his speakers, “Be still my beating heart.  I’m taking home my baby bumblebee.  Check on the rep, yep second to none.”  The mix-mash of voices confused the two, as they struggled to piece together the clips.

     The red Ferrari sauntered over, making Sunstreaker sneer, “That is a Bumblebee, and I am ze Dino.”

     Before the twins could remove the red menace, Wheeljack did for them, “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Wheeljack.” 

     Edi smirked, nudged her twin, and attempted to poke her over the bond.  Jumping, Terri whirled on her twin, and was quick to ask over the same connection, “What?”

     “He’s the same color of your car.  What did you call it again?”  Edi asked back, as Wheeljack gushed over his current projects.

     Confused, Terri answered, “Wheeljack, because it came with a spare wheel, and not a jack.”  The two looked at each other, and much to everyone else’s confusion, Terri fell backwards, laughing silently as hard as she could.  Tears were soon streaming down her face, as she continued to laugh.

     Wheeljack’s head fins flashed, as he asked the non-convulsing twin, “What’s going on?”

     Snickering, Edi answered the confused mechs, “Well, Wheeljack, Terri had a Chevy Cruze that was the same shade of blue as you.  Her family has a tradition of nicknaming vehicles, and due to the fact that her car came with a spare wheel, but not the jack, she named it Wheeljack.”

     Stunned, Wheeljack added, “My alt mode is a Ford Focus.”  Terri gasped, clutched her sides tighter, and continued laughing.*

     Edi shoved her amusement to the side, “Now you’re just making it worse.”  Terri was attempting to sign “Please shut up,” so Edi spoke for her.

     A smaller red mech came up, “What an interesting conundrum.  By the way, my designation is Perceptor.”

     Wiping tears from her eyes, Terri managed to sign back with shaking hands, “Wonderful to meet everyone.”

     Sides quickly intercepted the rapidly blabbing mechs.  “Okay, the girls have to refuel.  You can speak with them later.”  The mechs started to disperse, some of them mumbling words akin to 'mama bear'.

     Prime nodded.  “Wreckers, see me for your next mission.”  The mechs quickly stepped out, as Terri and Edi were carried out by Sides.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Just to clarify for those, who do not know current vehicles, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze shares the same body style of the European Ford Focus for the five years before the Cruze's release. So essentially, a European Focus is an American Cruze. Enjoy the little car joke.*


	10. Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavy pop culture references ahead, as well as movie cuddle piles, and Sam screaming like a little girl ... again.

* * *

 

 

     Only a week had passed since the introduction.  The team retrieving the protoforms had been delayed by both weather, and by repairs that were done before leaving the moon.  Edi and Terri leaned against the wall on Sideswipe’s berth, as Terri, holding her speaker with her tentacles, asked in the generated voice, “How much longer ‘till we get our new frames?”  The hybrid twins were getting anxious, as the drug flushed slowly from their systems, and brought the beginning pains of rejection back with a vengeance.

     Sunstreaker vented from his position on his berth.  Sides was getting the fuel for the femmes once again.  The golden 'vette answered, “Two more days, and no, asking more often will not make the days go by faster.”

     The red head looked over to her spark twin, “Sunny’s not being fun.”

     The mech grunted, “It’s Sunstreaker.”

     Edi sighed, “Don’t piss him off, he _will_ step on you.”

     Clapping her hands lightly, Terri asked, “Ooh!  What do you think our new frames will look like?”

     Edi snorted, “I don’t know, the only protoform we’ve seen, is the basic in the medical data packet, but it will probably be smaller than S and S for sure.”

     Running a hand over her face into her hair, Terri whined, “Gah!  I’m not used to being short!”

     The brunette laughed at her twin, “Welcome to my world.”  She then laughed harder, as Terri shot her a dirty look, and with a sigh, the red head started doing squats a few feet away.  “Aw, are you acting like Zack, the puppy, now?”

     She took a brief pause to put her hands on her hips, as she proclaimed, in a memory recording of Zack Fair’s voice, “My dream is to be a hero.”

     “Wow, really good impression.”  Edi deadpanned, as Terri returned to doing squats.

     Smirking, the twin played another memory recording, “So, now we’re couriers, delivering packages to fugitives.  Just looking at you is making me sober.  You know, you’re pretty heavy.”

     Quirking a brow, Edi asked, “Going Reno on me, are you?”  She smirked, “Weren’t there some kids living with you?”

     “'Cause they ain’t here.”  Terri quipped back, not missing a beat on the way down.

     Sunstreaker leaned forward to the twins, “What are you going on about?”

     Terri froze, and looked at the mech in unadulterated horror.  Edi shared a similar expression, and stated, “Only one of the greatest movies of all time, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete.”

     Sunny frowned, “Never heard of it.”

     Sides came in, as Terri started, “We’ve gotta get a movie night!  Boost some morale!  Let us forget about the crazy shit going on right now!  Introduce you bots to some Earth Culture!  Even if it’s gamer and counter-culture, ya’ll need to get initiated!  C’mon!  It’ll be fun on the bun!”

     He poked his brother over their bond, “What is she talking about?”

     Venting, Sunstreaker sent back, “A movie she wants all of the Autobots to come together and watch, apparently.”

     Sides handed the girls their trays and asked, “So, what movie?”

     Edi answered for her twin, “Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete.”

     Sideswipe activated his holographic projector and projected one of the many commercials on YouTube, and commented once it was over, “It could be interesting.  You’ll play the remembrance of the original game, right?”  Tree nodded enthusiastically, and Edi nodded with equal fervor, making Sides laugh.  Opening his communications, he called, “Sideswipe to Prime.”  Prime was quick to answer, like his usual self.  “The femmes would like to orchestrate a movie night for us, as Terri said, “to introduce us to some Earth Culture.”  The movie they wish to play is Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete, with the summation of the game that led to the movie.”

     Optimus vented from his leaning position in his “office,” as he watched the advertisements on YouTube for the movie, and replied to the awaiting mech, “Alright Sideswipe, as long as Prowl knows of the dangers, you may proceed.”

     Sides smirked from the relaxed state he had fallen in, and he leaned against Sunstreaker, “Well girls, you got your wish; Prime’s allowed the movie night.”

     “Saweet!”  Terri exclaimed pumping her fist.  Finishing her tray, she asked, “So, when, where, and how?”

     Sides smirked, “I was thinking tomorrow, in our general purpose hangar that has a projector for human use.  I’ll go get the movie if you two go with Sunny, and inform all the bots.”  Terri flashed a salute, as Edi nodded.  Despite Sunstreaker protesting having to handle organic frames, the four were off.  Except for Prowl, the mechs were quick to agree, just to know their new teammates better.  And quicker than anyone could believe, the time had come for the movie.

     Sides looked around the hangar and the multitude of Autobots, as he waited for the scout to show up with the movie, “C’mon Bee, where are you?”

     Tree tapped on his ped, and signed as he looked down, “Did ya get the movie?”

     Sideswipe looked sheepish, well, as sheepish as a twenty-two foot tall silver Cybertronian can, while stating, “Bee’s got it.”  Then, like clockwork, a yellow and black striped Camaro rolled into the hangar, disgorging two passengers, before shifting out of the disguise.

     Sam found himself looking at two other women, each sporting the Autobot brand, and immediately recalled the machination of many of his nightmares, Alice.  Squealing like a young girl, the mid-twenties man ducked behind his guardian’s ankle, dropping the blu-ray in his hands in the process.  Terri, of course, freaking out the human Chihuahua even more, rushed forward to dust off the movie, and cradle it like a baby, before shooting the man a glare.  Sam asked, none too calmly, “What’s a pretender doing here!?  You guys never told me you had pretenders!  Where’d they come from?!”

     Edi rolled her eyes at her twin, before answering the only slightly younger man, whose girlfriend was watching with a faint smirk on her face, “We’re Autobots, and we came from Cybertron.”

     “Oh, and how do I know that you’re not gonna give my gastro intestinal tract a quick probe with your diesel tinged tongue?”  Sam retorted, making Carly widen her eyes in shock, as well as the twins.

     Tucking the movie under her arm, Terri signed at the same time Edi asked, “Why does this sound like a past experience?”  The Autobots, who had been on Earth at that point, began to laugh, as memory files were brought to the surface.

     Optimus leaned down.  “Sam, Carly, these are the femme twins.  They will not harm you.”

     Carly looked up to the Prime, as Sam began to move away from the safety of Bee’s ankle, “Well, don’t they have names?”

     Prime vented, “With their new frames coming, they gain the right to choose their own names, and this period of namelessness is to allow them the full uninfluenced decision.”

     Sunstreaker grumbled from his position against the wall, “Are we watching this movie, or not?”  Bee whistled in agreement, sweeping his charges into his arms, before setting them on a thigh plate.  Sides was quick to do the same with the femmes, setting some polishing clothes on his own thigh.

     Almost three hours later, Optimus was the first to shift from his relaxed position, with most of the Cybertronians leaning against each other almost in a dog pile, and stated, “That was... interesting.”

     Perceptor spoke up from his position near Wheeljack.  “The digital imaging technology is highly advanced compared to other examples we’ve seen, but could use further refinement.”

     Wheeljack’s panels lit up in excitement “The premise of SOLDIER and mako energy is interesting, and I think I’ve got some new ideas for that new source of renewable energon.”

     Smirking, Tree looked at her sister, “And you thought I was a Hojo.”

     Edi looked at her, “Wow, you’ve been outclassed.”

     “But I’m cute and fluffy!”  Terri signed back, making several of the people around them laugh.

     Bumblebee, with his door wings in an alert v, played, “Meega, nala kweesta!”

     The twins looked up to the Camaro, “Oh my god, Bumblebee, we think we love you.”

     Sam stood up, “Hey!  No stealing my Guardian!”

     Edi looked at the male with a raised eyebrow, “Although Bee is absolutely fabulously adorkable, we’ve got the twins at our backs.”

     Bee perked up at the compliment, and played another clip, “Wonder Twin Power activate!”  Terri once again fell over backwards, shaking in silent laughter.


	11. New Frames

     The day after the movie moved quickly for the femmes, as they were treated to all of their favorite human foods, and were soon left to starve for twelve hours, to prep for the surgery.  Thankfully, the fast was scheduled during their recharge, to make the transition easier for the femmes, as the tanks in their new frames only had enough energon for the start-up, and a few hours after at the most.  Right now, Ratchet stood before the two frames in his repair bay, as he waited for the femmes to arrive, hoping his work would meet their approval.  Sides sent a ping to the medic, as he approached the door.  Terri and Edi were sitting in his palm, and Sides handed them over to the neon-glow medic.

     As the silver corvette went to leave, Terri waved and signed, “Hope to see you soon.”

     Giving a short laugh, Sides remarked, “I’ll hold you to that, femme.”

     Ratchet vented, as he approached the two protoforms with their hopefully new residents.  “These are the protoforms I was able to fix, and don’t worry, I’ve modified each one to be unique to you.  Unfortunately, they are not of the same height, but I don’t think that will bother you too much.”  The twins gave him a reassuring smile.  “Anyway, the shorter frame to your right has a specialty weapons system that enables one to become a walking liquid hazmat plant.  The pipelines and storage tanks are able to handle the most acidic and basic solutions, as well as the most thermally diverse liquids, like liquid nitrogen.  It is twelve feet in height, highly flexible and light in movement, for a better close-range combat, and should allow you to be a pretender, as well as have a vehicle form.  The other frame is thirteen feet tall, has thicker plating, with joints and gyros that are more sensitive than the norm, for better scientific pursuits.  It also has a broad range of flexibility, and several bladed weapons already installed, with the same basic features of the previous frame to allow a pretender and vehicle form.”  Ratchet looked at the twins, as he set them down near the human sized cots.  “Now, you need to choose your frame, and we’ll start the procedure.”

     Edi motioned to the shorter frame.  “I’ll take this one,” Ratchet nodded, making a mental note, “and Ratchet, my new designation is Aquastreak.”  Ratchet nodded once again, updating his medical files.

     The CMO turned to the other twin, “Is there anything you wish to share?”

     Shrugging, the red head signed out, “Life’s a highway, and I’m going to cruise until I think of a new name.”

     “Get settled on the beds, and we’ll begin.”  The two followed Ratchet’s command, as the medic sent a ping over to Perceptor and Wheeljack to enter, and assist him.  The smaller scientist climbed onto the berth, and affixed them to the anesthesia.

     After he made sure the two were completely unconscious, Perceptor stated in his British accent, “They’re ready, Ratchet.”

     “Good, the protoforms are ready.  Secondary life systems running.  Perceptor, begin the extraction of their spark chambers.”  The small mech nodded and began the work, quickly handing off the parts of each twin to the larger mechs installing them into the new frame. 

     Halfway through, Ratchet stopped, and he looked down into the chest cavity of Aquastreak.  “Frag.”  Wheeljack and Perceptor looked to the medic in confusion.  “They’re going to need a nanite infusion.  Keep working.  I’m getting the twins.”  The scientists nodded, and continued on to finish the memory core transfer, as Ratchet sent the message, “Twins, report to the med bay, your immediate assistance is required.”

     Five minutes didn’t even pass, and the roars of engines, followed by the sound of transformation were heard, as the silver and gold twins stormed through the doors.  “What’s the problem?”  Sideswipe asked, rolling nervously from side to side.

     Ratchet vented, and motioned for the twins to rest on one of the berths against the sidewalls, “I need some nanites for the infusion for both of them.  Hold still.”  The two froze, as the medic boldly used his access channels to open their chest cavities, and pull some nanites with a rather large needle.

     After the neon bot finished his work, Sideswipe stated, as his chest plates re-sealed over his spark, “Man, I hate it when you do that, Hatchet.  A little warning would be nice.”

     Huffing, Ratchet stated, “I’ll remember that the next time I need to save you pit spawned glitches.”  He fiddled with the needles, adjusting them to fit inside the smaller femmes, and remarked over his shoulder, “Go get some fuel, and take it easy the next couple of solar cycles.  Medic’s orders.”

     Sunstreaker looked over his shoulder, his blue optics fixed on Aqua for a couple seconds, as the two made it to the door, “They’re gonna be alright?”

     “Doubting me now, Sunstreaker?  Of all the mechs, you should know my expertise.”  Ratchet remarked, as the twins left.  Quickly, he entered the closed off section, where Aquastreak and her twin were in mid reformat, and barked out, “Perceptor, get off the berth.  ‘Jack, take this needle for the other twin.  I’ve got Aquastreak.”  Scrambling, the scientists followed orders, and just as quickly, the CMO and the Chief Engineer were extending their hardline connectors, to begin the boot up of the two.

     The larger femme was the first to stir, and said in her original voice, “Man, why does it feel like Prime stepped on my chest?”

     “A minor side effect from the nanite infusion, and I'm relieved to know that your new vocal processor seems to check out fine.  I’m going to test your motor relays, and then we’ll proceed with a check over your comlink systems.”  The larger mech then began applying pressure on certain wires, lines, and sections of plating, making the undesignated femme squirm.  Finished with his check, the mech allowed her to sit up, and turned to his comlink.  Carefully specifying the femme, he asked, “Femme, are you receiving?”

     An optic twitched, as the femme sent back, “You know, that could almost be perverted.  Are you done yet?  I’ve got a very annoying little gauge in the corner of my HUD that says I need to refuel.”

     Vocalizing once again, Ratchet commented, as he handed her a cube of energon, “Think of it like a normal cup, and drink slowly.” 

     The femme nodded while Aquastreak stirred, and taking a quick swig, she remarked over their bond, “Good morning star shine!  The Earth says hello!  You know, since you took a couple of moments of beauty rest, I’ve been poked and prodded, and finally got some fuel.  All I can say is, now I can officially tell people I drank fuel.”

     Aquastreak leaned back, and laughed weakly, “Nice.  What about your other favorite little saying?”

     Ratchet looked between the two, venting.  The formerly Tree stated, “It’s no longer true, so I can’t say it.  But, the Bender classic is now free to say.”  Lifting her cube in a toast like action, she stated, “Bite my shiny metal ass.”


	12. Where’s That Autobot?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When is a name more than a name? Just something to ponder on.

* * *

 

      The day had started off strange for the human command staff in the N.E.S.T. Base: first, there were reports of two women, dressed in army fatigues, walking around base, and then, there was an emergency alert from Ratchet, stating that his patients had disappeared from the repair bay.  Currently, the two “missing” femmes were in the main hangar of N.E.S.T., and working alongside the humans with various communication arrays.  Sideswipe finally joined the rest of the Cybertronians to report their search results.

     The silver mech shifted nervously, as he addressed Optimus, “Sir, we can sense their spark signatures, but have been unable to find them.”  Optimus vented, dreading telling the medic and Mearing that he had lost some of his team.

     Aquastreak, monitoring the results, asked over the bond, “Should we admit we’re here yet?”

     Smirking, the auburn-haired femme replied, “Hold on.  I got a better idea.”  She waited until Sides was rolling out the door, before running towards him, and made a slight detour to the strong support column.  Optimus watched the human woman run towards his soldier, and nearly glitched when, jumping up and off the pillar, the woman transformed into a thirteen-foot Cybertronian, quickly pinning Sideswipe to the floor.  “And that, my friends, is how you both let others know of your location, and get away with glomping your favorite Autobot.”

     Venting, Prime looked down at the femme, who was considerably shorter than he was, “I assume your sister is nearby.”

     “Try by your ped.”  Optimus looked down, and saw the human formed femme, who gave him a wave and a grin.  “So, boss, we were wondering when we’d be free to get a kicking alt mode.”

     Sideswipe rolled off his back, and stood up, briefly glaring down at the femme, “Sometime after the Hatchet gets done giving you several dents for sneaking out.”

     Raising a hand, Aquastreak stated, “Hey, it was her idea, I just followed to make sure she didn’t hurt herself.”

     “I’m sure Ratchet will let you off easy this time, seeing as how you’ve perfec-” Optimus began, as the protoform twin accidentally knocked over several desks when shifting her weight, “erhm...made great strides in getting used to your new frames.”  The twin was back into her pretender form, and helped clean up the mess, nanites shifting to a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

     Aquastreak looked up to the prime, “Hopefully, it will be soon, since she tends to get stir crazy, if she’s stagnant for any length of time.”

     “Stir crazy in what way?”  Optimus asked, almost dreading the answer.

     “She gets twitchy, easily aggravated, trigger happy, and a little loopy.  This tends to last until she is able to get out, and do something.”  The femme stated, keeping an eye on her sister, and occasionally lending a hand.

     Laughing, the twin added, “Not to mention, I turn into a complete klutz.  I gotta get the road under my tires to chill sometimes.”  Her head jerked up, “Hey, Aqua!  I got my designation!”

     “Really, what?  Roadrage?  And you're always a klutz.”  Aqua questioned, joking.

     She grimaced, “Ew, no.  Freeride, 'cause I gotta be free to ride those roads, or I’m no good.”

     Breaking up the peaceful moment was Ratchet, who busted through the doors.  “Where are the twins?”

     Unable to not say it, Sides asked, “Which set?”

     “The femmes,” Ratchet growled back.  Scanning the room, the medic quickly turned his attention to the two six-foot-tall women near the mess of the desks, “You two should be in the repair bay.”

     “Easy Ratch.  Oh, and by the way, you can just call the boys S’n’S, and we’ll be F’n’A.”  Freeride stated, hoping to distract the irritated CMO.

     Aqua poked across the bond, “F’n’A, fucking awesome?”  Freeride giggled, and sent her agreement back.

     “Oh, so you finally chose your designation?”  Ratchet shot back.

     Bowing, the six-foot six woman answered, “Freeride, reporting for duty.”  She then ducked away from the wrench that flew at her head, “Hey!  Watch it!”

     “Return to the repair bay, and I won’t have to throw another one.”  Ratchet replied, picking up his wrench on the way out.  The two looked at each other, Freeride quick to duck her head, before following the medic with Optimus, and the ‘vette twins.  Once inside the repair bay, the medic shot over his shoulder, “C’mon, don’t make me have to repair more neck joints than I have to.”

     Sighing, Aquastreak transformed to her protoform, the experience becoming easier to trigger and get through.  Her twin ducked around her peds, and executed a Judo roll during her transformation.  “Show off.”  Freeride shucked off the hip check from her twin, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

     Optimus chuckled at the good vibes of the twins, “Ratchet, how soon do you think they would be ready for an alternate mode?”  Sunstreaker and Sideswipe settled against the doorframe to keep unwanted visitors out, seeing as the femmes were still their responsibility.

     Ratchet vented.  Freeride looked hopeful, and Aquastreak seemed a little embarrassed to be without armor.  “It depends on which vehicle they choose.  But if it wasn’t one that we have in storage, then I would feel better, if they had some defensive practice, as well as several data packets on driving in an alt mode before they scan.”

     Freeride briefly, and discreetly, flipped Ratchet off for the previous comments, “I’m going with my dream car!  Well, what _was_ my dream car back when I was human.  The newest model of a ZR-1 Corvette, candy apple red, with a white racing stripe, the only model of car that has to be tuned down from factory stock to race.” 

     “Oh, so the one that couldn’t decide on a designation is the one certain on her alt mode.”  Ratchet remarked, his tone mocking, prompting Free to openly flip him the one finger salute, and making the Aqua and the twins laugh.

     Optimus rumbled, ignoring the display of immaturity going on in front of him.  “I do not know if it would be the best choice if you are to remain unnoticed by the humans.”

     “The car’s specifications are also too large for your frames.  It would be extremely difficult for your frame to take on such an alt, while still being pretenders.”

     Aqua looked over to her put down twin, feeling her disappointment.  “We could still try transcanning it.  If it doesn’t work, we can just try another car.  Also, corvettes are not that rare, we used to see them all the time.”

     Free looked up, hope building, and said, “Yeah, and even if the new model is too big, some of the older models are smaller.”

     Optimus vented, seeing as the two would not give up.  “Alright, we will arrange for you to attempt on the new model.  Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, you will teach them basic defense after Ratchet has given them the data packets for their new functions.”  The prime said.  Ratchet had his back turned to the twins and Prime, working on datapads to give to the femmes for them to review.

     Aqua looked at the commanding officers, “Functions?  When did this get discussed?”

     “Shortly before you were reformatted.  I had Prowl look into your human records to find out your schooling and former employment.  Upon reviewing your records, Prowl, Ultra Magnus, and myself decided it would be in the best interest of all involved to keep you within your interests and talents.  Aquastreak, since you were a certified translator and interpreter in four languages, you will work in communications, especially between humans and ourselves.  You both will also assist Rachet in human repairs, seeing as you have sufficient knowledge in the human medical field.  Freeride, you will continue to work as a scientist, and help supplement our knowledge of biology as well as work with our other scientists to help usher Earth into a golden age.”  Prime supplied.  He turned to leave, as he commented over his shoulder, “I am sure you two will perform admirably at your functions.”

     Smirking, Freeride nudged her twin with an elbow, “To think, we’ve only got fifty more years of this, and then we’ll be just like Ratchet.”

     Ratchet raised a random wrench, making the mech twins laugh, and duck out, “I heard that.”


	13. Personal Defense Cybertronian Style

 

     The twin femmes leaned against each other in their newly acquired room, four days after they received their jobs.  Freeride vented, a hand running over her helm, “We’ve gotta make this more habitable.”

     “A little more us, you mean?”  Aquastreak shot back, as she felt the agreement from the other, and then sorted through the transmitted images for the decoration of the room.  “Anyway, the twins will want us for their personal defense lessons soon.”

     “Oh, right, that starts today.”  Freeride responded, rolling her shoulders, noting the hissing of the hydraulics.  The two started out the door.  Under medic’s orders, they were told to remain in protoform, until danger made it necessary to revert to the more heavily protected pretender form.  Freeride remarked, “Still not used to that.”

     Aqua gave a burst of static, “You used to hiss all the time.  Why does it freak you out now?”

     “Difference between voluntary and involuntary, my dear sister, and it doesn’t freak me out.”  Free answered, sidestepping the group of humans by her peds.  “Anyway, I was thinking of a large tank, you know for koi.”

     “Custom sculptures?  I'd like a couple giant fans and wind chimes...and maybe a little water fountain.”  Aqua remarked, as they turned down the corridor to the outer gates.

     “Fitting for the koi, and the culture.”  Free returned, sending pictures and concepts over the bond.

     Sunstreaker stood near his wheeled brother, servos crossed, “What are you two plotting this early?”

     Dismissively waving a hand, Aqua commented, “Art project, not that _you_ _’_ _d_ be interested.  So, what’s the plan?”

     Sides laughed at Sunny's expression.  “We spar, and give you tips to help along the way, but we’ll focus on battle without weapons systems this time around.”  Free briefly nodded, already sliding into the stance she had become accustomed to in Judo.  Aqua quickly strafed around to the side of her twin, picking up her sister’s calmness and readiness.  Sides opened his bond, telling his brother, “I’ve got Freeride.  She and I have a little debt to settle.”  Sunny gave him a brief feeling of acceptance, before charging like a bull at Aqua, who, under prompting from Free, twisted away.

     Aqua watched the golden twin take a couple steps past her, planning an action to take, as he shot a hand out, to twist her servo behind her.  Ducking out of his grasp, she peeked at Free, to see her pulling on Sides’ wheeled ped, and knock him off balance.  Sunstreaker, noticing the distraction, growled out, “Optics on your opponent.”  His incoming fist came within inches from her face, as he said, “Trust your twin to take care of herself, and do the best you can, to get as many of the Decepticons as possible.”  Aqua moved away from his fist just in time, and planned her first attacks.  She was slowly starting to use her light frame to her advantage, which gave her an edge over Sunny's heavier, larger form.  She remembered the use of Ba Gua from one of her old favorite shows, and using the circle-walk, she avoided almost all of Sunstreaker's hits.  She kept her servos lightly touching his back, and went for low, quick strikes.  She kept ending up behind him, which prompted an irritated “Get off my back” remark more than once.

     Free had been dodging kicks and punches, after she had pulled Sides into a gear grinding split, and began to notice a pattern in Side’s attacks.  Sides followed through with his ploy, and quickly regretted it, when the femme not only dodged his attack, but viciously got him in retaliation.  Aqua, catching a glimpse of the shocked Sideswipe, cheered, “Woo!  Go Free!  Those videogames are paying off!”  The twin smirked at the praise, as Sides rubbed his new dent.

     “Geez femme, were you trained in something?”  The mech asked, his twin already putting Aqua back into her paces.

     Noticing the soldiers about, she turned on her comlink, “College, took a judo class for a PE credit.  Managed to get about a yellow belt, and liked to watch realistic martial arts movies.”  Then aloud, she stated, “A little bit of this, a little of that.  Can’t pull my punches though.”

     “I noticed.”

     Free placed her hands on her hips, and asked, “Aw, are you gonna cry?”

     Aqua dodged a swing from Sunny, and yelled, “No Jecht!”

     Free smirked, and looking over to her twin, shot back, “At least I’m not Marvin, or Eddie!”  Sides attempted to attack, only to be dodged once again, with a swing in retaliation.

     Sunny accessed the bond, “Do you have any idea about what they’re talking about?”

     “Nope.  Sounds like another movie night coming up to me.”  Sides sent back.

     This continued until the four bots were running their cooling systems at full capacity.  Heat could almost be seen coming off the two pretenders, as Sunny stated, “That’s enough for today.  Hit the wash racks, and cool off.  Tomorrow we’ll work on your artillery and shooting skills as your unarmed is up to snuff.”

     Free fist pumped, “Yay!  Science gets more fun when I get a bigger gun!”

     Sides laughed, “Free, we’re gonna be great friends.”

     Aqua smirked at her twin, and Sides, and remarked to Sunstreaker, “We’ve just unleashed hell on whatever poor sap that gets on their bad side.”

     Sunny winked at the femme, “Four of us against the idiot, won’t even stress my cooling system.”  Aqua giggled at that.


	14. R.B.G. (Really Big Guns)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, three chapters for today. Hope this makes everyone's weekend!   
> Also, would you rather be shot with a bullet that could not penetrate skin from an actual gun, or a regular bullet fired from a paintball gun?

* * *

 

 

     Aqua vented, as she leaned back on her berth, “You know, it’s weird not needing to sleep.”

     “A bit,” Free agreed, turning the datapad slightly, as she continued to doodle.

     “Wonder how easily we could get a TV in here.”

     Free turned away from the datapad, “Depends on if we’ve been allowed access to the store, and if we’ve received our stipend yet.  That, I still find hilarious by the way.  Are you getting bored?”

     Aqua shifted to better see Free, and echoed her comment, “A bit.  I need a good music program so I can start composing again...we need a theme song.”

     Saving her doodle, Free gestured to the pad, “Too bad we can’t get bowman on these.”

     “Stickmen with bows, shooting at each other, and copious amounts of blood?”  Aqua questioned, laughing, “The others will not understand that one.”

     “Or if we had our decks…” Freeride began, Aqua already sensing where she was going.

     “Oh!  Now _that_ would be awesome, a full holographic game of duel monsters.”

     “Okay, now we’re gonna have to write a list of what to use our first stipend for.”  Free stated, turning the datapad back on, and navigated to its text program.  “A TV is a given, but what rank?”

     “Up there.  Computer is also at the top.”

     “I-tunes?”

     “I-tunes.”

     “That’s also at the top, knowing how we’ll go nuts re-buying our once vast music collection.  I’d say we’ve already got our first spending spree planned.”

     Aqua watched Free maneuver the program, highlighting and adding spaces.  “We’ll start the tank with the third one.”  The discussion quickly ate up the rest of the evening hours, with the two talking about the chosen music, until the twin mechs sent them a message to meet at the range. 

     As the two left their room, datapad left on a berth, Free remarked, “Now, this is why we need to get our alternate modes soon.  Walking halfway across base just isn’t as practical as driving.”

     Aqua heard the human tram before it passed them.  “Even the humans have a shuttle.”  Feeling a poke across the bond, Aqua looked at her twin, “Free, no.”

     “C’mon, it’ll get us there just a bit faster.”  Free whined, before transforming to her pretender form, nanites shifting into a pair of jeans and a baggy T-shirt, and jumped on to the last bench on the tram.  Grinning, and patting the seat next to her, Free watched Aqua slowly shrink into the horizon, until she repeated the process, and joined her sister.

     “You’re just not right sometimes.”  Aqua commented, as Free watched the base roll by.

     “Nope, the majority of the population is left brained.  I, like few others, are right brained.  Yer all just lefties.”  Free responded, taking a moment to see, if she could pump tunes from YouTube.

 

     Sides and Sunny stood side by side, surrounded by humans in paintball gear, and waited for the femmes.  The two looked to the approaching tram that was blasting music loud enough for them to hear.  The silver 'vette stated over their bond, “I have this feeling those two are on the tram.”  Sunny shot is twin a sarcastic “really?” look, as the two femmes stepped off the back of the tram.

     Free smirked and waved, the song _Three_ _Minutes_ _Clapping_ coming from Aqua, “Hey boys!  How’s the world up there?”

     Sides smirked, servos on his hips, “I dunno...  How’s the world down there?”

     Sunstreaker shook his head at the two.  “Anyway, your training today is with firearms.  Now, until you get your alt mode, you will be unable to actually fire, release, or modify your guns, so you will remain in your pretender forms.  This works out for us, as several of the soldiers owe us some favors, and there are newbies to train.  So, instead, you will be using these guns loaded with paint bullets.”

     Free raised a hand to interrupt, “Don’t you mean paint ball guns?”

     Sunny vented, as Sides answered, “These are not paint ball guns.  These are the actual guns used by the soldiers, but instead of a normal bullet, they fire paint bullets.  Paint bullets are a Wheeljack invention, and so far, have been non-fatal.  They look exactly like normal bullets and fire in the same manner, but cannot penetrate skin, and do not travel at the same speeds.”

     “Plus, if you get them on your paint, they're slaggin' hard to get off.”  Sunny added, glaring at some of the soldiers.  “We have a variety of guns for you to choose from, and our little friends here will be performing a training exercise of their own: they will be firing upon each other while you will be firing upon them, _while_ they fire upon you.  So, if you would change into something that the paint will show up easier on, we’ll begin.”  Nodding, Free giggled, as her nanites shone silver for a moment, before she was encased in concrete gray, head to toe paintball armor and gear.  Aqua did the same, just without the giggle.  An older man quickly took control of the soldiers, organizing them into three teams for a melee of capture the flag.  Each team was marked separate from the others by the color of their armor and gear, making a red, a blue, and a black team.  The pretenders sorted through the guns, taking their first picks, as the twins moved to protect their paint from stray bullets.  Free quickly picked up the sniper rifle, and swung it onto her back, and Aqua grabbed a Carbine.  The two nodded before separating, and the game began.

     The game was split into several rounds, so both femmes would be able to try each weapon for a single round, as the twins kept a statistical analysis for each weapon to determine the best guns for them.  Freeride, so far, had done the best with scoped guns, the sniper rifle her best, and sprayed enough bullets that it didn't matter, if you don’t have a sight gun, evident by her absolute glee in firing a mini gun.  Aqua seemed to be the opposite, preferring weapons that didn’t have a scope, and was handling the mid range, that Free had left blank with her poor performance, the Carbine being her best so far.  Eventually, after the first three rounds of the game, the two became bored with just firing upon the soldiers, as they went through the training exercises.  With the last several rounds, they took to raiding one of the teams’ camps to take bullets, flags, and any soldier in base, out for the round.  The latest hit had been the black base, which had been hit the first time around, due to the proximity of the femmes’ base.  That was when the twins discovered Free’s love of the mini gun, which destroyed the base with only a slight injury of a streak on Free’s arm, as Aqua stole the flag. 

     Now, the black team was a bunch of new soldiers, most from the Chicago area, and despite the battle of Chicago being fought over three years ago, well, a plan was hatched for eliminating the two femmes that were just playing around.  Before the game officially ended, two men from the black team snuck around to the femmes’ base, their movements silent to the humans.  Sides nudged Sunny, and motioned to the two men, as the two were recording for their report to Prime.  Aqua picked up her last gun assortment, twin 9mm pistols, as Free loaded her last gun on the list, a pump action Shotgun.

     “Last round.”  Free remarked, clicking the gun shut, listening to the mechanism lock seamlessly into place.  “What’s the plan?”

     Aqua looked at her, wondering the same thing.  “I don’t know.  Want to go back to just picking them off from the center conflict zone?”

     Free shrugged, eyes closing as she stretched.  Picking up a small sound, she tuned her audio receptors to the source, and quickly located it behind Aqua, finding she did the same from her side.  Opening their bond, Free stated, “Boogies behind us, about twenty feet back, and five feet to the side.  I get yours, you get mine?”  Aqua barely nodded, and they clicked the safety off, firing at the sneaks without looking.  Aqua’s target fell backwards on the ground, paint splattered on his chest armor, as Free’s target placed his hands on his paint splattered self, groaning, and also fell to the ground. 

     Aqua looked at the victim, then to her sister, “Congratulations.  You just shot a man with a shotgun, who apparently is not wearing a cup, in his junk!”

     Free looked at her sister before, walking over to the man to ask, “Are you, all right?”

     Pulling off his mask, the mid twenties soldier asked, “How many times can you get shot in the nuts before you can’t have kids?”

     Aqua looked at Free, and made a go on motion, enjoying the show, as she helped her own victim stand.  Sighing, Free answered, “Usually just once, but since these are Wheeljack brand bullets, maybe twice.”  The man groaned, and rolled onto his side, cursing quite colorfully.  Grabbing his one arm, Free pulled him to his feet, and slipped the arm over her shoulders.  “C’mon, let’s get you to medical.”  The two paged a tram, and loaded the men on, while the twin mechs followed along side.

     Sides, cruising after the tram in his alt mode, commented to his twin, “I think Free just took the no harming humans rule to a new level.”


	15. On the Road Again

 

     Optimus vented, as he finished the last line of the report arranged by the twins about the femmes, and after brief consideration, sent out a message for the four.  “Your presence is requested in my office.  Optimus Prime out.”  The twins arrived before the femmes; the roaring of their alt mode engines an easy indication as to how they arrived.  The mechs looked at Prime curiously, and the mech in question stated, “We must wait for the last members of this meeting.”

     The femmes came in later, music blaring from Aquastreak as she sang along, as her and Freeride jammed and swayed to the music.  Optimus's spark lightened at the sight of the two, his processes going immediately to his offline third in command, Jazz, and his communications officer, Blaster, who had not been seen since his ship left Cybertron.  A quick internet search revealed the song they were singing along to.  It fit the situation quiet well: Utada Hikaru’s Exodus ’04.  Mentally chuckling at their song of choice, the prime began, after the song ended, “After reviewing the report arranged by the twins over your progress, I believe it is time we allowed you to take on an alternate form.  The alt you requested specifically, Freeride, is going to come off the assembly line in less than twenty-four hours.  Unfortunately, the vehicles are being made in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and as we are in Washington DC, transport will be needed for you two.  This is where you come in, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker.  Your mission is to escort Aquastreak and Freeride to the factory, so they can scan their alt modes.  Once they have, either successfully or not, scanned, report back to base, and begin the trip back.”  The twins smirked, engines revving for the chance to get off base, and just go.  “Remember to obey the speed limits, and take the most efficient route.”

     Sides and Sunny nodded, before practically dragging the femmes out the door.  Aqua looked at the two, “I’ve got Mapquest saying we could be there in nine hours.”

     Free propped a servo on her hip, and countered, “Well, Google is saying eleven and a half hours, when avoiding the toll highways.  So, if you two don’t mind kicking your shiny afts in gear, we could take the Google route with full highway run, but do it in the time MapQuest is sayin’.”

     Sunny looked between the two, “And why would we want to run our wheels off for this?”

     Looking at the two mechs’ wheels, specifically the ped area, Free asked, shocked, “They come off?”  Aqua shook her head in amazement, before pinching her across the bond, and making the taller femme jump.  “Oh, right, Peanut moment, sorry.  Anyway, less than a quarter of a mile from the factory, where the Corvettes are being made, there is an entire Corvette museum that holds a showcase near daily.  You happen to be rare Centennial concepts that are smokin’ hot, and would get all the eyes on you.”

     “And all the grabbing, grubby, greasy, little human hands.  I do not enjoy having to suffer the indignity of pretending to be a machine.”  Sunstreaker growled.

     Sides nudged his brother, “C’mon Sunny.  Just think we could do it, if they wash and wax us once we return.”

     Free elbowed her twin, “We could do that, but we’d have to be done first, so we could learn how to do it right.”

     Aqua got the hint, “Yeah, I mean I’ve heard that a bad wax job can make the paint look and act cheap, and poorly done.”

     Venting, Sunstreaker transformed down into his alt mode, passenger door open, “You drive a hard bargain, femme.”  Aqua smirked, and transformed down, quickly knocking dirt off her peds, before climbing into the golden corvette, leaving her twin and Sides to follow their example.

     Free looked at the empty driver’s seat, as the seat belt settled against her, and asked, “Don’t you think it would look odd for a convertible to be driving itself with a passenger?”

     Sides laughed, as his hologram appeared in the driver’s seat, “Keep trying to drive me femme, and I might start processing that you’re into me.”

     Free blushed, then looked at the platinum blonde man in the driver’s seat, and found herself wanting to wolf whistle at the impressively handsome hologram.  Reminded of the singer, GACKT, she poked her sister across the bond, and asked, as the two mechs drove past the gate and onto the main road, “Wanna have some fun?”

     Aqua smirked in her seat; Sunny’s windows tinted to the point where he didn’t have to activate his hologram, and asked, “Musical mayhem?”  She felt Free’s agreement, and started by humming the opening bars of “On the Road Again.”  Moments later, Free sang the first verse of the song, and Aqua took on the next verse the two switching between each other.  Sunstreaker noted that Aqua's voice was quite pleasant to listen to, and wondered vaguely, if she has had previous training.

     Upon finishing the song, the two changed to GACKT, and various other songs of their favorite artists.  Every once in a while, the two would switch off on verses, confusing the mechs into having their bond play the singing twin to the other, to hear the entire song.  Eventually, Sides became bored with the jumping around of the songs, and tried to guess the next song.  Occasionally, he was on the right track, by having guessed the right artist.  This, of course, filled the gap of time between the side streets and the highway.  Free grumbled, as she moved to collect her long hair.

     Sides had his hologram look over to the femme, as he asked, “What’s wrong, Freeride?”

     Feeling the amusement of Aqua across the bond, Free looked at the hologram, eye slightly twitching, “It’s gonna go poof.”

     Listening to Aqua giggling, and feeling his twin’s confusion, Sunstreaker asked the femme, “What did she mean?”

     Aqua smirked, and calmly explained, “It’s her hair.  Back when we were human, whenever we had the car window down, and went on the highway, her hair would go from straight to a mess.  Kinda like a bad case of bed head, mixed with an afro.  ...It just goes... poof.”

     Now snickering, Sunny relayed the message to Sides, who stated back, “Not funny, bro.  Do you know how hard it is to keep your hologram in focus, when you have hair flying through it?”

     Sending a smug burst of static, Sunny retorted over their bond, “Well, then just let her sit in the driver’s seat, and put her hands on your steering column.”

     “You know, that could very well make you sound like a closet pervert, brother.”  Sides sent back over their bond, enjoying the brief sputter in Sunny’s engine, as he sped up to fly past the two, making Free ‘whoop’.

     “Whoo!  I wanna go fast!”  Free yelled, laughing at the speed.

     Aqua, hearing the engine sputter, asked innocently, “Sunny, are you alright?”

     Growling filled the cab, as he sped up, “Quiet, femme.”

     Aqua, in turn, just huffed, “’cuse me for wondering.”  Poking Free across the bond, Aqua asked, concerned, “Do you know what’s going on between the two?”

     Still laughing, Free responded, “Dunno, but man we’re cruising!”


	16. Corvette City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, can you tell I like corvettes?
> 
> ~XP~

* * *

 

      At around eight in the morning, both sets of twins entered the city limits of Bowling Green Kentucky.  The corvettes idled down to the city’s speed limit, and navigated the streets to the marked museum, that was thankfully open when they arrived.  Sides watched the femme in his seat, as he maneuvered to park in the large circular drive, surrounded by other corvettes of different years and styles.  Free was practically bouncing in her seat, and pointing to a random corvette announced, “Oh, that’s a 50’s hammerhead!  Those cost more than most houses.”

     Sides arched his hologram’s eyebrow, “Really?  I thought corvettes were only stingrays.”

     Free nodded, “A common misconception.  In the 1950’s, when corvettes first came out, they did not have the sweeping front ends, like the later models did, which was most noticeable in the seventies.  They had the kinda mustang-like, stubby front end that, for the time, held a rather powerful engine for the light frame.  Also, in the fifties, the corvettes did not have a v8 under the hood, only because v8’s didn’t exist.  Anyway, this stunted front-end, combined with the atypical hood, where the hinges were near the grill, lent itself to the term hammerhead, as it kinda looks like a hammer, when the hood is up.”

     Aqua then butted in, “Free, wipe the drool from your mouth, and stop the history lesson.”

     Sides laughed at the expression on Free’s face.  “C’mon Free, let’s check out this museum of yours.” 

     His hologram stepped out of himself, and as Free followed suit, after having her nanites straighten her hair, she asked, “Can you project that far from yourself?”  Smirking, the mech sided up to her, as his slightly taller hologram put a nonexistent arm around her waist.

     “Wanna find out?”  Laughing, the two walked into the museum, excitement all over Free’s face.

     Aqua looked at the dashboard in front of her, and smiled, “Your brother was completely flirting with my sister.”

     If Sunny had been in his normal form, he would have shrugged.  “So?  They’re both adults.  It’s not like they’re new sparks, or younglings.  Or did you not think that Ratchet may not have done some of his best work on your frames?”

     Confused, Aqua asked halfway out of the cab, “What do you mean?”

     Chuckling slightly, the former artist answered, “Really, he doesn’t broadcast it with his garish paint jobs, but the medic does know the ins and outs of attractive mech and femme forms.”

     “Sunstreaker, are you calling me attractive?”  Aqua asked, as she stood in front of the hood.  She slowly leaned on it with her elbows, her cheeks resting in her palms.

     His hologram stepped out and remarked, “Depends on how that alternate mode fits on your frame.”  Aqua slowly straightened, she gave the mech a slow once-over.  She observed the differences between his hologram and Sides’: the first being the hair color a golden blonde, almost making him look like a Nazi poster child, and then the more muscular build that lent itself to his fighting style.  Her face took on a shade of pink, as she realized that this mech is attractive in any form he takes.  Noticing the femme studying his hologram, Sunny asked with a cocky smile, “Like what you see?”

     The look turned into a glare, “You vain mech.”  Aqua then huffed, and walked over to lean on Sides’ alternate form, content to let the gold mech handle his own with the approaching crowd of car enthusiasts.

 

     High above the museum, two F-22’s flew over head.  Normally, this would not be unusual, as many of the highways had their speed limit enforced by aircraft, and the frequency of local armed forces bases included flybys of various military equipment.  Yet these jets were unusual because of their coloring: at point was a blue-gray color jet, with yellow highlights, and the wing mate was nearly black in color, with purple highlights and wingtips.

     The blue one, noting the readings on his radar, called out to his cohort, “Autobots beneath us.  I’m picking up a reading for those miserable fragging twins.”

     The purple jet seemed unaffected by the gravelly voice of his wing mate, as he moved closer to the other jet, “Shall we eliminate, in the name of Lord Starscream, Thundercracker?”

     Thundercracker sent the feeling of agreement over their fractured trine bond, “Let us wait until they move away from their current location, Skywarp.  We do not want them able to readily receive back-up, now do we?”  Skywarp returned his agreement and joy in eliminating some Autobots, to begin the process of avenging their wing lord.  The two dropped closer through the clouds.

 

     The two sets of twins, having just received the message of the finished corvettes, ditched the crowd of admirers to make their way to the factory a quarter of a mile away.  Free was, once again, practically bouncing in her seat, as the two mechs pulled up to the fenced lot, where two corvettes, both freshly washed and waxed, sat glistening in the sun.  Each had a white racing stripe down the center, following the initial contours of the hood, to become a normal stripe at the end.  Both corvettes had the plexi-glass window of the engine block in the same color of the rest of the body, candy apple red and cerulean blue, with the Autobot symbol engraved into them.  Free gave a low whistle at her corvette, as she accepted the prompt on her HUD to transcan the vehicle, a faint green light passing over it.  Aqua did the same, minus the whistle, after taking a moment to both admire the sleekness of the car.  As the light faded, a high-pitched whine descended from the clouds.  The two mechs used their engines to give off a defiant roar, as they both yelled to the femmes against the fence, “Go hide, and don’t transform.  If you can get in contact with Prime, tell him we have Seekers.”  With that, the two sped off.  Two jets descended and opened fire on the two shifting into their stealth modes, to avoid fire.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, our first look into some Decepticons!  
> ...
> 
> Evil cliffhanger is evil.


	17. Airborne Assault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, about the wait, but messing up an arm to where you can't type for a month does this. Forgive me...

* * *

 

 

     Thundercracker and Skywarp ignored the bullets that managed to bite into their fuselages and wings, as they rained bullets down on the rapidly dodging mechs, who drew them farther from the human populations, and further into the Kentucky wilderness.  The two aircrafts were careful not to get close enough to the ground, for the risk of helping the twins practice their jet judo, and destroying their semi fragile wings.

     Meanwhile, Aqua and Free watched the circular dance going on between the aircrafts and the ‘vettes, as they slowly moved further and further from the two.  As they hunkered down between the fence and the building, Aqua looked over to Free; an eye still trained on the combat, and asked, “Why haven’t they noticed us yet?”

     Free shrugged, “Guess a possible interference of reading our spark or energon, from being in our pretender forms.”

     Aqua nodded, as she tried once again to reach the other Autobots and N.E.S.T., but kept getting audio splitting static, due to them being nearly twelve hours away.  “They’re blocking our communications.”  She sighed, and leaned back against the building, commenting, “Well, we can stay here, or we can break their orders, and go help them.”

     Free watched the combat.  The twins have not taken any serious damage other than bullets scraping their paint job.  She responded, “For now, we’ll keep hidden, and if, and when, they need it, be ready to bring the hurt.”  Aqua sent her agreement as they sprinted, while ducking, to the nearest cover, and then continued on, so they would be able to remain on the edge of the battle that was progressively getting more extreme.

     Sides vented to help aid his cooling systems, as he transformed out of his alternate mode, while he rocketed off a small, but steep hill.  He and his brother were far enough from the human development to not be seen, and were ready to really take down the two Seekers, who were rapidly becoming better shots.  He was quick to activate his back mounted machine guns, as his wheels gained traction on the loose dirt.  Sunstreaker slid right beside him, and his toes dug into the dirt, causing their bond to fill with his disgust and complaints, while he transformed out his larger guns to take aim.

     Aqua and Free heard the jets release a full magazine of missiles that grazed the silver and gold mechs, and sent the loose soil around them into the air.  The loose soil then made their situation worse, as it shifted, causing the mechs to slide further into the valley, and lose their footing, making them easy targets for the landing seekers.  As the dirt leaden air was clogging their internals, Aqua asked her twin over the bond, “Interfere now?”

     Free sent back an affirmative, and took off running once again, this time transforming to her thirteen-foot form, before folding down into the corvette she had scanned only minutes ago.  “Follow my lead!”  She yelled over their bond, as her spinning tires gained grip on the dirt, before launching her at nearly eighty-eight miles an hour off the ramp-like hill.  “I’ve got the blue one!  You go for the purple one!”  Free barked, as she gained air, and cutting her engine, she experienced a moment of gliding, before she began to descend towards the top of the attacking Thundercracker.  Aqua, beside her sister, aimed for the slightly smaller jet that was trailing the blue one, and at the same time, the femme twins transformed to land on the jets, making both of them veer at the sudden weight.

     Aqua gripped the jet with both hands, legs bracing against the vertical tail fin.  She quickly activated her pumps that contained her small stash of liquid nitrogen.  Skywarp attempted to transform out of his alt mode as the liquid crept over, and froze his circuits, making his thrusters sputter, and fail.  The partially transformed mech then became a larger target for the furious Sunstreaker, as he unloaded a full salvo into the failing Seeker.  Free was having a rougher time disabling the Decepticon, as he performed multiple barrel rolls, making her grip the wing in her hand harder, until a dent, the shape of her servo, could be seen around it.  She took the moments between the mech’s rolls, to engage her short sword from her wrist, and repeatedly stabbed into the softer metals of the wing.  Thundercracker continued to grunt, as the sensitive wires in his left wing were shredded by the short femme on his back.  The pot shots Sideswipe was taking from below were not helping, as he opened the bond to Skywarp, “Ditch your hitchhiker, and retreat for now.”

     Aqua, holding onto the cooling and shuddering mech, called out to her sister, “Are you about done?”  Free sent her agreement, as well as images of how they were to safely land, as she threw her weight against the protesting Thundercracker, making him suddenly change his horizon, and yaw to face his purple comrade. 

     The speeding jet had little he could do to avoid the collision, as the hitchhikers jumped off, except yell at the faster jet, “Skywarp, live up to your name!”  Within a moment, the two appeared to make first contact with the ground, before an atmospheric pop was heard, and the two disappeared.

     Free and Aqua helped each other up, as their gyros were still working overtime to compensate from their rolls down to the bottom of the hill.  Aqua clutched her twin, “I am so glad you took those Judo classes.”

     Free responded back, gaining a surer footing, as her gyros settled down, “I’m glad that you were just as awesome with that liquid nitrogen.”

     Sunstreaker watched the femmes as they climbed up the hill, their peds making visible indentions into the earth.  Turning to his twin, as the femmes slowly cleared the top of the hill, he remarked over the bond a bit breathlessly, “I must say that those femmes are two of Ratchet’s finest works.”

     Sides added back, “They’re also twins.”

     “And you call me the pervert.”  Sunny retorted with a suggestive smirk, working some dirt loose from his shoulder.

     Sides let his engine growl, “I’m merely pointing out that if, and I’m only saying if, we wanted to find our sparkmates, they would definitely be the first choice.”

     Aqua and Free stood side by side at the top of the hill, letting the breeze remove some of the dust off their armor.  Their Autobot symbols now sat on their torso plating, the smaller plates of their alternate mode lay under the plexi-glass simulation, to add another layer of armor.  Lacking large seams in their armor around their arms and legs, the two both had spikes extending from their elbows and knees that helped protect the vulnerable joints.  They both appeared to have the same ped style, allowing the extending of two of the wheels of their alt, to serve as skates.  Essentially, the two shared the same armor style, despite the difference in height, and excluding their helms.  Aqua’s helm continued her singular streak of white into the thick ponytail of tiny armor plates, and her two audio horns, short and curled forward, divided the white from her cerulean coloring.  The base was white, ending in a blue tip, making her appear to have four optics, and highlighting the human like structure of her silver facial plates.  Free did not have the same white patterning, as it divided and rolled across her shoulders, leaving her helm and the long billow of armor plates to resemble her pretender form’s red hair, as her own horns made a different impression.  Much like Sideswipe’s crest, they arched backward from the “brow” region, but curled upwards enough at the ends to give her a devilish look, especially with the snow-white tips contrasting with the apple red of the rest of her helm.

     Sunny addressed the two beaming femmes, “What were you thinking?”

     Aqua shrugged, “We couldn’t get through the communications jammer they had, and since we couldn’t call for backup, we thought that we could work as backup.”

     Sides interjected their logic, “And jumping on the backs of two dangerous Seekers?”

     Providing her counter argument, Free answered, “They were flying, so getting into a position to clip their wings was critical, and getting a free lift out of them was just the easiest way to get at them.”

     Sunstreaker looked at Sides, a disbelieving look on his faceplates, and the silver mech then burst out laughing.  “Femmes, you just graduated Jet Judo 101 with flying colors.  Now, let’s go back to base to brag about your accomplishment, and face Ratchet the Hatchet’s wrenches, when he learns of our corruption of you.”


	18. Prowl Tipping

 

     It was late, at approximately three in the morning, when the four rolled up into the N.E.S.T. Headquarters.  With the normal sounds of transformation, the four walked/skated to Prime’s office, where he was waiting for their return.  Optimus watched the four enter his office, immediately noticing the armor the femmes now carried, and asked, “Everything had gone as planned?”

     Sides answered first, snapping automatically into soldier mode.  “Not entirely.  We were ambushed by the Decepticon Seekers Skywarp and Thundercracker, moments after Freeride and Aquastreak gained their alternate modes.  The Seekers managed to get my brother and I into vulnerable positions in a valley, and thinking quickly, Free and Aqua were able to force them to retreat, using Skywarp’s warping ability.”

     Venting, Optimus turned to the femmes directly, “I was hoping to keep your existence from the Decepticons for just a while longer, but now that they know of you, you both will be undergoing additional training, starting in two day’s time.  Aquastreak, at that time, you will report to Prowl and Ultra Magnus, to begin your integration into our communication systems.  Freeride, tomorrow, you are to meet with several of our military contacts, to select your area within our research hangar, and list the equipment you will need.  After that, you will have the remaining two-day period to yourself.  You are dismissed, and Ratchet requests that all of you report to his repair bay immediately.”  Nodding, the four departed, leaving the prime to contemplate the situation with the emergence of the rest of Starscream’s trine.

     Once outside, and maneuvering the winding halls, Aqua asked her twin, “So, what do you think your first project will be?”

     Free shrugged, “I was thinking about improving one of the core crops.  You?”

     “Definitely improving communications.  Funny how it jams just when we need it the most.”  Aqua said, shaking her head.

     Sides rolled between the two, a hand resting on each of their shoulders, “Well, I know that after we’ve had our visit with the Hatchet, and cleaned some of this grime off, I’ll introduce you two to one of the greatest sports on this base.”

     Upon arriving, Ratchet was quick to scan the four individually, his medical equipment easily reporting the small injuries.  Venting, the medic began his treatment, “Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, nothing major, just scratches in your paint job.  Make sure to reach all the small gaps in your armor, when you hit the wash racks.  Aquastreak, you just need to take it easy on your tanks for awhile, until they get full, and get a wash.  Freeride, you overstressed your servo, doing who knows what, but it should be fine with a couple days of light use.  This means lifting nothing over two hundred pounds with that hand, and get the grime off as well.  Now, get out of my med bay.”  Accepting the dismissing wave, the four continued on their way to the wash racks with six in the morning rolling around, making the human traffic increase.

     Quickly reaching the Autobot only area of the base, the traffic thinned out, allowing the four to walk side by side, and continue their conversation until Sides stopped them.  “Perfect.”  He turned to the confused femmes, as Sunny rolled his optics at his brother’s antics.  “Okay, Prowl is coming down that hallway there to get to his office.  Now, you may be wondering what this means to you.  Well, Prowl has this little glitch: say anything illogical and he will pass out.  I call it, Prowl Glitching.  Anyway, the key to this is, to make him glitch without getting in trouble doing it.  Or to glitch him in such a way, that it can't be traced back to you.”

     Aqua and Free looked at each other, an entire conversation passing between them in a moment, as Aqua stated, “Sounds entertaining.”

     Free smiled, “Can I give it a try?”  Bowing and gesturing to the hallway, Sides let the femme attempt her first round of Prowl Glitching.

     Prowl walked down the hallway to his office, grateful that unlike Optimus, he did not have to travel though the human sections, as he sipped his overdue energon cube.  That is, until the sensors in his door wing picked up the signal of the new femme, Freeride, as she passed in front of him, appearing to be deep in thought.  Extending a communications link to let the femme know of his location, he politely stated aloud, “It is nice to see that your first mission was successful.”

     Free feigned surprise, as she responded, “Oh, thanks Prowl.”

     He nodded in return, as he continued the small talk, seeing as he had recently cleared off a portion of his desk, and was ten minutes early.  “You are welcome.  If I may ask, what was on your processor that had you so intently focused?”

     “Nothing much.  I’ve just had so much time to think after reformatting, that I’ve taken to trying to find the answer.”  Free responded, sending Aqua the image of a fish taking the bait.

     Curious, the monochrome mech asked, “The answer?  The answer to what?”

     Smiling, Free responded, “Only the answer to life, the universe, and everything.  I think I’ve got it too.”

     Now shocked and curious, Prowl asked, “Really?  What is it then?”

     “Forty-two,” Free answered, as her smile turned into a smirk.  Seconds later, Prowl gave an audible pop, as his processor steamed slightly, and he fell backwards, stiff as a board.  Sides looked around the corner, having of course heard everything, and beeped his approval.

     “Free, you are good.”  Sides stated as he wheeled up to her.

     Looking down at the mech, Free shrugged, “That wasn’t even the best one.  I was thinking about the dolphin translation, or Zaphod’s two heads and three arms, but I thought it would be better with the answer, as that also leads to a couple more.”

     Aqua shook her head at her twin, “You and your _Hitchhiker_ _’_ _s_ , and here I am thinking about Soviet Russia jokes and anime.”

     Sunstreaker looked down the hall, “Well, Prowl also has an emergency program that alerts Hatchet every time he glitches, so now might be a good time to leave the scene.”

     Sideswipe quickly retreated into the hallway that led to the wash racks, as he nudged Freeride, “You have to introduce me to this Hitchhiker’s.”

     Free smirked, “Only, if you allow me to alter the name of your little sport there.  Instead of Prowl Glitching, try Prowl Tipping.”

     Aqua stepped in, “It works if his falling over is the common reaction, which makes me think of cow tipping.”  Free nodded as she snickered, and pointed to her sister, letting the mechs know that that was her exact thought on the reasoning.


	19. Wax Jobs

 

     The four-split up when they reached the wash racks, which was previously divided into two sections after Arcee’s arrival, and re-divided for the two femmes.  Stepping under the warm cascade, the two used their gifted soaps to remove the dirt caked on their tertiary armor.  Aqua, after several minutes of scrubbing and polishing, asked her twin, as she triggered the separation of her armor to reveal the secondary under armor, “So what do you think of Sideswipe?”

     Free let the clicking of her releases form a hesitation, before answering, “Sideswipe?  Well, I don’t know him all that well, 'cause we’ve only been here, what, one, maybe two months?  But, he makes me laugh, plus, he’s been really sweet so far, and not to mention nice.  I’m not one to fall for jocks, though.”  Accepting the request for assistance, she turned to rub the small brush over the places on Aqua’s back that she couldn’t reach.  “What about you and Sunny?”

     Aqua vented, “He’s vain.”

     “That’s obvious.”

     “It _does_ make things funny, and, well, he attempts to be nice in his own way.”  She then took the brush to assist in her twin.  “Still, with you and Sides, there’s some major flirting going on.”

     Twitching, Free responded, “Some of that may be a slight mistranslation of the whole “I wanna drive your alt form” feeling.  Otherwise, of course there’s flirting going on.  I mean, have you seen his alt form?  Smoking hot.”  Aqua giggled at her sister's enthusiasm.  “And his hologram, also smoking hot.  _Then,_ his true form!  You gotta admit that’s also smoking hot.  That’s three smoking hots in one being, who also has a great personality, which translates into nuclear fallout of hotness.  You _have_ to flirt with that; that is an automatic female flirt with mandate.” 

     Aqua was laughing by this time.  “Not one to fall for a jock, eh?”

     Stretching as the brush was removed with the last piece of dirt, Free ignored the last comment, and added, “I’m just surprised that there’s not the like going on between you and Sunshine.  I can pick up on you thinking he’s attractive, but I don’t see much action there.”

     Both of their tertiary armor refastened itself over the secondary, and Aqua turned off her jet of water.  She responded, “I think it’s there if I can get past his mood swings, but you know how bad I am, when it comes to interpreting these things.  We’re just subtler than you two.”

     Free turned off her shower as she shot back, ready to run, “Oh, you mean, he’s doing the whole Lord Sesshomaru, “I’m flirting with you but I’m not flirting with you” verbal dance.  Great, my spark split twin, the other half of myself, is dating a non-biological alien lord fluffy butt!”  Aquastreak let out a sound of half outrage, half amusement, and threw the brush.  Quickly dodging the thrown wire bristle brush, Free ran out of the wash racks, and straight into Sideswipe.

     Sunstreaker looked at the two forms sprawled out on the floor.  Freeride managed to not only be on the top half of the bot pile, but also have her chest level with Sides’s.  Mentally laughing, he sent the embarrassed silver corvette, as hinted by the loud whirs of their cooling systems, over the bond, “Wow, I can tell who’s going to be the dominant one in the relationship.”

     Growling back over the bond, Sides responded, “Mute it, slagger.”

     “And you seriously call me the pervert, brother.”

     “I said, mute it!”

     In the mean time, Free desperately tried ignoring the flaring of her spark, as she attempted to get off the larger mech, without bringing their chests into closer range.  Looking to the free mech, oblivious to the two’s mental battle, asked, “A little help here, please?”  Sunstreaker ignored his brother’s empty threats over the bond, as he gently grabbed the femme under a shoulder, and lifted her sideways off his brother.  “Thanks.”  Silently praying her cooling systems would switch off, Free turned to the upright silver mech, “Sorry about that.”

     Sunstreaker then jutted in, “So, why _were_ you running?”

     “Freeride!  I’m going to-” Stopping mid yell, Aqua turned to the two startled mechs, as Free hid unsuccessfully behind Sides, “Sorry about that.  I’m contemplating having Ratchet turn my sister into a toaster.  And don’t think I don’t see you trying to hide!  I will get you back for that.”

     Going for the distraction tactic, Free quickly asked, “So, how about that wax?”

     Sunstreaker vented, amused, and eyed the femmes’ frames for a moment.  “Your protoforms are too small for us to properly wax you, but if you change into your alt modes, we should be able to get all of your visible plates evenly waxed and polished.  Either way, we should definitely move to a more private area.  I would recommend our room.”

     Aquastreak smirked at her sister, and exacting her revenge, she began playing _We_ _’_ _re_ _off_ _to_ _see_ _the_ _Wizard_ over her twin bond.  “That sounds acceptable.  Sunstreaker, will you?”

     “Of course, my little femme,” Sunstreaker replied, and followed after taking a moment to give her form a once over.  He led her by her forearm to the aforementioned room.

     Free looked up at Sides, “Damn, your brother is such a Sesshomaru.”  Noticing Sideswipe’s confused look, she quickly clarified, “The half brother of Inuyasha, the show with the same name, and dog demon lord of the western lands.”

     Taking a moment to Google the character, Sides responded, “Fits him.  Anyway, Free, are you free?”

     “Trying to butter me up with puns?  Yes, I’m free.”

     He took her arm, and began to lead her to his room, “Then let’s follow my brother and your sister's example.”

     Extending her wheels, Free said, “It was my idea, but they acted on it first.”  Free skated backwards, trying out her wheel’s secondary function.  “Well, are we going?”  Sides laughed, and skated past the femme, before the two-skated side by side to the room.

     Inside the room, Aqua shifted into her alt form, the clean metal reflecting the lights, and pulled into the area Sunny pointed out for her, to park.  He quickly opened the cabinet near the door, to reveal a shelf of waxes, “Any particular scent you would like?  No wait, I think I have the perfect one for you.”  Grabbing the Cybertronian sized container, he pulled a fresh sponge and cloth from it, before settling near the femme.  “Ocean breeze.  A strong, steady, clean scent that lends itself to your designation.”  He dabbed the sponge into the wax, before rubbing it on, in strong, circular motions.  Eventually, he covered her frame, his motions making her engine purr, as he then took the cloth, and worked off the excess.  Aqua, meanwhile, was also using the purring of her engine to cover the sounds of her cooling systems, as her spark began to flare with the continued contact of the golden mech.

     She tried for conversation, “Damn, I guess this is how Autobots get a massage.”

     Googling the term, Sunny smirked, “Glad you like it.”  Once he finished, he watched her shift into her Cybertronian form, admiring his handy work. 

     “Do you trust me to give you one?”  His engine revved at the prospect of that proposal.

 

* * *

 

     Sides and Free finally approached the room, the two taking time to enjoy the free time, and skate around various places on base, mostly, to keep Free distracted from loop of her least favorite song.  Sideswipe’s audio horns twitched slightly, as he heard the purring of a high-performance engine, and finding his brother’s end of the bond to be aroused.  He turned to the attractive femme beside him.  “You know what?  Let’s go to your room instead.”

     Free nodded in understanding, feeling arousal on her bond as well, before leading the mech to the bare room, and settling into her alt mode.  Sideswipe looked around the room, before pulling the materials he needed from his subspace pocket.  “Look, I may not carry the selection of waxes that Sunny does, but I think I have the perfect scent for you: Japanese Cherry Blossom.  Strong, sweet, and just spicy enough to give you a little sass.  Not that you need it.”  He winked at her.  Free would have rolled her optics, if she had been outside of her alt form, but settled for honking her horn, as the mech grinned, and began working the wax onto her armor.  Sideswipe worked the armor over.  He may not have been as perfect as Sunny was, but he made sure to cover the femme’s armor in a coat of wax that would be of his twin’s approval. 

     It wasn’t long after, that the two were switching places, when Sunstreaker contacted him through the bond, “Brother, I believe our spark has chosen for us.”

     Sides held back his amusement, as he watched Free transform down into her pretender form, “What?  Aqua got your spark flaring like it’s going to come out of your chamber, and your cooling system running so hard, it feels like you’re about to fall to pieces?”

     Hesitating, the golden mech answered, “Yes...  Frag it; she’s a natural at wax jobs.”

     “Good, 'cause I was getting worried that I was the only one.  Well, except Free’s doing it for me, good thing they’re twins.  So, we need to work out a courting strategy, get to know them.  We are in it for the long term this time, bro.”

     Sunny growled over their bond, “Sides, you’re blabbing as bad as Bluestreak, mute it.”

     Sideswipe sent his amusement over the bond, as he rolled forward enough to knock the leaning Freeride off her peds, and onto his hood, “Then, allow me to just say that they’re our little femmes now.”

     Free looked at the wax smeared all over her arms and legs, and exclaimed in aggravation, “Sides!”

     Sending his agreement to his brother’s comment, Sunstreaker then replied, “I feel sorry for Freeride, then.”


	20. Behold the Power of SCIENCE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeljack being Wheeljack in this chapter, and that is why the dorky engineer is well loved.

* * *

 

      Free was stirring from her defrag cycle, when a message flashed across her HUD.  “Uh, Freeride, this is Wheeljack.  We have several humans outside the lab, waiting to meet with you.” 

     Her engine revved, as she jumped from the berth, wheels extending to hit the ground, and as an afterthought, the femme sent her twin a message over their bond.  “Gotta bolt, have military guys waiting for me at the lab.”  Receiving a disjointed feeling of acceptance from the blue femme, she skated as fast as she could, out of the room.  Wheels a blur, Free dodged past several mechs, before entering the human portion of base, and taking a moment to jump and flip over some humans in the walkway, she transformed to her alt mode.  Squealing, her tires gained traction on the concrete, making several of the on looking soldiers wince, as she shot off, avoiding further close encounters with the soldiers.  Thankfully, Free had downloaded a labeled map of the massive base to navigate the twisting halls, which had maps posted for the convenience of the soldiers.

     Five minutes of speeding later, she pulled up to a ramshackle hangar, which had two military hummers parked outside, and a group of humans standing outside of the doors.  The four humans, two in military fatigues, looked to the new corvette, before it shifted from a sports car to the Cybertronian form.  Free quickly kneeled, and stated quickly, “Sorry for the delay, my defrag cycle went longer than expected.  Allow me to introduce myself: I am Freeride, Autobot Scientist, and Pretender.”

     Lennox smirked at the small femme, “It’s not a problem.  Anyway, I’m Colonel William Lennox.”  He thumbed to the African American beside him.  “This is Master Sergeant Robert Epps.”

     A stern man beside him cleared his throat, before introducing himself and the young man, who was holding a tablet.  “I am Sydney Callahan, government budget liaison of N.E.S.T., and this is my aide, Geoffrey Moshburger.”

     “A pleasure to meet you all,” Free responded, almost giddy with excitement to meet the Colonel that Sideswipe had commented on.  “I have done some research into the materials I will need to perform my studies, and if you would like, I could transfer the list over.”

     Callahan nodded, “That would be excellent, Miss Freeride.” 

     Geoffrey held out the tablet, as Free transformed down into her pretender form, scaring them, before asking innocently, “What?  Did I shock you?”

     Epps was quick to comment, “It’s just, we ain’t never seen any one of you all change into a human.  Didn’t even know it could happen.”

     Smirking, she clarified, “Being a pretender, a Cybertronian that is able to take an organic disguise, is beneficial to my area of expertise, and makes interaction with indigenous species easier.”  With a slight chuckle, Free took the tablet, and with a slight look to the USB connection on the side, transformed her index finger to the appropriate connector.  After the file finished transferring, she handed it back to the still stunned Geoffrey.  “Anyway, here’s the list.  It is fairly complete, just missing some of the more time sensitive chemicals that will have to be purchased at later dates.  So, contact information will be required, before any major experimentation will be performed.”

     Gathering himself, the budget liaison then quickly stated, “Thank you, and now if we could proceed inside, and draw up the plans for your research area...”  The two soldiers went first, followed by Freeride, with the official and aide bringing up the rear.

     Free looked between the two soldiers, as they carefully opened the door, asked “So, why were you two called out for this?”

     Chuckling, Lennox answered, “’Jack and Percy are good guys, but with Percy being a walking computer,” He then realizes what he said, before adding, “No offence, and ‘Jack also has the habit of blowing things up-”

     Epps laughed, “Nearly every day, once he starts a new project.”

     “We were called in to run interference, and for protection.”  Lennox finished, as Wheeljack came into view, with an extremely large screwdriver held in his servo.

     Placing the screwdriver down for easy access later, Wheeljack turned around, mentally wincing at the chaos his lab was in, head fins flashing, “Greetings, Lennox, Epps, Mr. Callahan, Geoffrey.  Freeride, it’s nice to see you fully operational.”

     “Thanks, Wheeljack, how’s it going?”  Freeride responded, trying to see the project around the mech.

     His head fins flashed in timing with his words.  “My energon converter’s almost ready for secondary testing.  Anyway, I assume you’re here for the set up of your lab.”

     Callahan nodded, “That is correct, Mr. Wheeljack.”

     Wheeljack waved a finger at the humans, and pretender, “Hey, I told you that you can call me ‘Jack, don’t be afraid to use it.”  He turned to the vacant, and relatively debris free south wall.  “This area, over here, would be ideal for additional lab space.”  He waved the humans onward.  Perceptor was seen briefly, as he walked over to his protected lab space.

     Free walked around the area, mentally diagramming the ideal lab environment, while Lennox and Epps kept a careful eye on Wheeljack, as he turned back to his converter.  Minutes later, she turned to the liaison’s aide, “Could I use your tablet again?”

     Wordlessly, the aide handed the tablet over, and she transformed the tip of her finger into a stylus, to quickly draw three images of her idea.  Callahan took the offered tablet back, and he reviewed the blueprint.  “I assume you would be working in your current form?”  Free nodded in response.  “Using the barrier set up, like what Perceptor uses around his lab, would provide some protection...and what’s this doorway marked greenhouse?”

     Smirking, she answered, “In order to alleviate the current pressures of world hunger, diminishing of usable space, and increasing amount of area that suffers frequent droughts, I thought that my initial projects would work towards producing high yield, low water requirement crops.  The greenhouse would be essential for the final stages of testing, and comparison.  I would be more than willing to follow current standards for such products, and to allow the United States government some of the profit as a thank you for supporting my people, for as long as you have.”

     Callahan sputtered for a moment, before slowly articulating, “That is perfectly acceptable, Miss Freeride.  I will inform the cleared construction crews to begin immediately.”

     Epps leaned over to Lennox, to softly say, “Hold money in front of their noses, and they’ll wave all that red tape, huh?”  Free, hearing this, gave the two soldiers a sly wink, as a high-pitched whine filled the hangar.

     Stepping back, Wheeljack stated, “That’s not supposed to happen.”  The humans figured out what the mech meant quickly, and the soldiers tackled the two suits to the floor, protecting them.  Free, also sensing the impending explosion, quickly transformed to her Cybertronian form, and shielded them.  The resulting explosion managed to topple half of the wall the liaison was just looking at, as well as destroy both doors to the lab, flinging their pieces almost to the doors of the med bay.

 

* * *

 

     Meanwhile, Aqua, having finished her defrag cycle and finding herself with nothing else to do, wandered into the med bay to question the CMO about the odd occurrence during yesterday’s wax.  Knocking on the door, she waited until she heard Ratchet’s grunt of, “Come in.”  Ratchet turned around, expecting either one of the twins to drag in someone after a spar, or someone to drag in the pieces of Wheeljack, but found a nervous looking Aquastreak.  His   countenance softened, and he gestured for the femme to sit on the lowered berth.  He asked, “What’s the problem?”

     Venting, Aqua jumped on the berth, and scooted back, so her legs were hanging off the side.  “Is it normal for a spark to noticeably flare?”

     Ratchet looked at the femme, his processor reeling with various problems, “No.  Tell me the events that led to this flaring.”

     “Well, yesterday, Sunstreaker was showing me how to apply wax to a paintjob, because I had never done that before.  When he was helping me, my spark started flaring.”  Aqua stated.  Ratchet took a moment to make a comment.

     “And it didn’t stop flaring, until you two exited each other’s electromagnetic fields.”  Aqua nodded, both shocked and relieved that Ratchet had already figured it out.  Ratchet quickly sent his medical override to the doors, locking them from outside access.  “Aquastreak, what you experienced, is a typical reaction of two sparks with compatible harmonies meeting.  It means that your spark has found the spark it wants to merge with.  Congratulations on finding your sparkmate.”

     Aqua looked at the medic, “What?  Like a soul mate?  And is it mutual?”  Ratchet found her anxiousness and innocence refreshing, as he nodded his affirmative to both questions with a small smile.  “But, what about Freeride?  I mean, she’s my twin, the other half of me.  What happens with her?  Or even Sideswipe, he’s Sunny’s twin.”

     Ratchet vented, “First, I would recommend to never calling Sunstreaker that to his facial plating.  Secondly, I don’t know.  I may be ancient, but I’ve only been the medic of three sets of spark split twins.  Three in all my vorns and you are the first to mention anything about spark flaring.  All I can inform you of, is that the sparks of twins have a disharmonious effect on normal sparks, which prevents merging, but may allow them to merge with the sparks of other twins.  So in theory, your mate is Sunstreaker, and Freeride’s is Sideswipe, but you need to talk with Freeride about this.”

     Aqua rolled her optics, “Yeah, talk to Freeride, who was so oblivious to anything other than science, that she didn’t notice guys pretty bluntly hitting on her.  If her spark was flaring, she’d probably never notice.”

     “Aquastreak, there has never been a mech or femme created, that did not notice when his or her spark flared.”  He turned to his tool bench, making sure to pick up the lone wrench with some golden paint chips embedded on it, before turning back to her.  “Now, I don’t like getting stubborn glitched femmes with my wrench, but it is imperative for the happiness of all involved, that you speak of this to Freeride.”  He vented.  Mentally, he commented, “I have a feeling I'll be seeing these femmes in the near future, knowing those pit spawned twins.”  He brandished the wrench one last time, as he deactivated the locks on the doors.  “Now, get out of my med bay.”  Aqua chuckled at the medic, noting that his nature lost most of its edge during the time she was a human and confined to the med bay, and started to leave.

 

* * *

           

     In the destroyed lab, Free stood up from her crouched position.  The humans looked up to her in appreciation, and Lennox and Epps rushed the two suits out of hangar.  She turned to the sheepish engineer.  “What the hell were you thinking!?!  There were humans in here!  What if one of them got hurt!?”

     Wheeljack waved off the angry femme, the servo missing from one arm.  “They weren’t injured.  I also believe I know were my converter went wrong, so we’ll have a new source of safe energon, hopefully soon.”

     Free stalked up to the mech, a warning finger held up to his face -or as close as she could get with eleven feet of height difference- and said, “You better get yourself to the med bay, before I report you to Prime and Ratchet.”  Huffing, the femme spun on her heel to meet the four outside, who were staring at the remains of one of the hummers.  The hummer was crushed beneath what appeared to be Wheeljack’s missing left servo, making the femme mutter, “I’m gonna shoot him.”

     Callahan turned to Lennox.  “What shall we do now, Colonel?  I have a meeting with Optimus in five minutes, and you are supposed to meet with General Morshower.”

     Freeride saved the image of Wheeljack’s servo, before transforming into her alt mode, and pulled up next to the liaison, her driver’s door open.  “Mr. Callahan, I will provide you and your aide a ride, as I need to report to Prime myself.  Lennox, Epps, it was interesting.”

     Lennox and Epps nodded at the femme, Epps adding, “Hope to see you around, Freeride, and your twin.”

     The man settled into the simulated leather interior.  “I appreciate your hospitality, Miss Freeride.”  Geoffrey quickly slid into the passenger seat, as Callahan went to put his hands on the steering wheel.

     Already feeling slightly violated, Free quickly commented, “That won’t be necessary, please buckle up.”  Callahan and Geoffrey complied, as she shifted into gear, quickly tearing across the tarmac, and back into the hangar complex.  Taking several sharp turns, the sports car idled down to a stop in front of Prime’s “office.”  The doors popped open once again, and as the liaison and aide climbed out, they moved aside for Free to transform. 

     The femme knocked on the door, and heard Optimus rumble near immediately, “Proceed.”

     Free opened the door, and the three walked in. “Optimus, I just wanted to report that Wheeljack’s experiment exploded, and he destroyed one of the military’s hummers in the process.  I also escorted Liaison Callahan, and his aid, Goeffrey Moshburger here, as I was informed about their meeting with you.”  Optimus nodded his thanks, as Free held down a servo for the two men to climb on.  She also took the moment to transfer over the images she had captured of the resulting destruction.  Gently, she then lifted them up onto the counter built into the side of the room, eyelevel for Optimus, if he sat on the floor, and left to recommend that Ratchet get the engineer with one of his wrenches.  Freeride nearly walked into her twin at the med bay, and she was then drug off by the shorter blue femme.


	21. Tribulations of the Spark

* * *

 

     Free looked at her twin, as she sat down on her berth, “Okay, what’s going on?”

     Venting, Aqua stated, her cooling systems whirring to life as their slid door shut.  “I think I found my sparkmate.  In fact, so did you.”

     The red femme shot up, “Who?”

     “First, I need to know: has your half of our spark flared around anyone?”  Aqua responded, with a determined look to Free, to keep her from avoiding the question.  She twitched for a moment, her cooling system kicking on, and her servo reaching up to the area over her spark where her chest plating had briefly touched Sideswipe’s yesterday.  Aqua smirked.  “That’s all I needed to know.”  Free shot her sister a look, making Aqua laugh.  “Okay, on the count of three, we’ll tell each other who our spark flares around.”  Giving her sister a nudge over their bond, “One”

     Free smirked, and nudged back, “Two.”  Then, speaking aloud at the same time, the two responded.  Free supplied the name “Sides.”

     Aqua supplied her name, “Sunstreaker.”

     From the recently opened door, Sides remarked, “You called?”  He was leaning against the doorframe, with Sunny standing right next to him, a smug look on his facial plates about the situation.  Free yelped in surprise, jumping from the shock, and fell off the berth.

     Aqua looked at the two mechs, anger and embarrassment flowing between the two femmes, “How long were you there?” she asked quickly.

     Sunstreaker answered, while Sides helped Free up, laughing all the while, “We only just walked up to hear you stating our designations.  Anyway, Aqua, I’d like to speak with you.”

     Aqua, confused as to what the mech could want, and relieved that the two did not hear the earlier portion of their conversation, responded.  “Okay?”  Her head was cocked to the side, making Free laugh, as Sunstreaker offered a servo to the smaller femme, which was taken, and the two left the room.

     Sideswipe looked around the blank room, already planning to make the room more like the femme his split spark chose.  He placed his servo on Free’s shoulder.  “So, Free, I was wondering if you would be interested in telling me about yourself.  You know, back when you were human.”

     Free looked up at the mech, “Why do you wanna know about my past?”

     He draped his arms over her shoulders, “Because it made you you, silly.  I've been your guardian for two months now, and I know nothing about you.  I’ll tell you about my past on Cybertron.”

    Curiosity overcame Free, as she slowly answered, “I’ve been curious about Cybertron.  Okay, Sides, you got yourself a deal.  Just as a forewarning, I have to tell you, I’m not that interesting.”

     “Great!”  Sides reacted quickly, scooping the femme up into his arms, as he jumped back onto the berth.  He settled the startled femme on his lap, and he leaned against the back wall.  He then chuckled at her sputtering, before stating, “I thought here would be good enough.  Unless, you’d rather go elsewhere.” 

     Free looked sheepishly around, her cooling system turning back on, “Uh, this is good.”

 

* * *

 

      Sunstreaker and Aqua were walking side by side.  Sunstreaker's processor was reeling with plans on how to start things as smooth as possible; he genuinely wanted to get to know the femme before, but now it seemed pertinent, like an unexplained need, to know her story.  He and Sides were always good at wooing any femme they wanted, use 'em and leave 'em without getting too attached, but this is different; he blamed it on his spark, and he was okay with it.  Aqua, meanwhile, was patiently waiting for Sunstreaker to break the silence, and contemplating what her actual feelings toward the mech are.  Sure, her spark chose a mate, but her human heart needed justification too; she blamed her hopeless romantic side.  “Let's go for a ride.  I wanna show you a place I found, that might get me to start painting Earth.  I want your opinion on it.”  Sunny said, as he changed into his alternate form.

     Aqua decided to humor him, “Aw, you found a favorite spot.  Is Earth growing on you?”  Sunstreaker gave a huff of a laugh, and the two were off.

     Only when they were a good mile or two away from the base, did Sunstreaker break the silence.  “You adjusted to being a Cybertronian very well in such a short time.”

     After a second, Aqua realized he was waiting for her response.  “Umm, thanks Sunny...  Makes me wonder how long you and your brother will still be our guardians.”

     Sunstreaker, ignoring the nickname, hmm-ed at that.  “He and I also realized that, despite our positions in your lives, we know next to nothing about your pasts.  So, I was wondering if you could tell me about yours.”

     Aqua perked up a little at that.  “Only if you tell me about yours.”

     “You got a deal, femme.”  Sunstreaker was pleased with the way this was starting, and decided to go first, feeling her anxiousness.

     “When Sides and I were first sparked, shortly before the war began, our creators took us to their housing unit in the poorer areas of Polyhex.  We stayed there with our creators until the initial stages of the war began.  We were about ten vorns old, eight hundred and forty of Earth’s years, when our creators, who were both Enforcers, similar to Police, were off lined in an attack by the beginnings of the Decepticon movement.  Then, we were taken to a Youth Sector, where within what equated to a month, we were adopted.  The mech that adopted us was not kind, and wanted to gain favor with Megatron, so he placed us into the gladiatorial pit he ran, as regulars.  We were in there from the time we were essentially, a human four-year-old until we were a human sixteen-year-old. 

     “Sides had gotten injured in the last fight, and the pit boss was denying us medical, saying the fight wasn’t good enough, when the Enforcers managed to break up the pit.  We were found by Jazz and Prowl, who then took us to Ratchet, as I wasn’t about to leave Sides.  He was still in pretty bad shape.  Ratchet worked his magic, and soon we were both fixed, and were about to be sent to a Youth Sector in Iacon, when he had contacted Ironhide and his sparkmate Chromia, to take us in, due us being twins.  Hatchet kept in touch with us, as he and Ironhide were still old friends back then.  But ‘Hide and Chromia were the ones to help us through our pit of torments, as well as help us learn to use our bond better.  They even introduced us to Prime, helped me discover my talent with painting, and set up a gallery that showed my work.  Then, the war started.  Immediately, we joined Prime’s side, and quickly proved our worth with all the experience we had gained in the gladiatorial pit.  We even fought some of the mechs that we had known back then.  During one of our missions, the Youth Sectors were attacked, and we were quickly rerouted to the same sector that we had been adopted out of.  There, we found the only living sparkling that was sparked after the war began, Bumblebee.  We took him back to Iacon, and helped make him into the sampling of each of the Autobots that he is.

     “The war continued on, and eventually, the battle of Tyger Pax happened.  Bee was still being looked after, as he had his vocal processor ripped out, and Sides and I were assigned to different teams to hunt for the Allspark.  During that time, both of us visited many planets, and eventually came to Earth to help Prime, who had already lost the Allspark to destroying Megatron by the hands of Witwicky.”  As he finished his tale, they arrived at a secluded part of the shore.  Aqua hardly paid attention to her surroundings, enthralled with Sunny's story, her imagination supplying images as her own version of his memories.

 

* * *

  

     Free looked at Sides as he finished his summarized story, and briefly felt disappointed in her own lack of excitement about sharing her past.  “I’ve always lived in the same area, had two loving parents, and a much older brother, who pretty much was a third parent.  There was always a slew of relatives halfway across the country, who we would visit once every odd year or so, and we traveled a lot.  Other than that, I was either doing a hobby, with Aqua, or in the lab, and that is what got me here.” 

     Sides was amazed that the femme could summarize twenty-six human years in three sentences.  “Really, that’s it?”

     Snickering, Free retorted, “Told you I wasn’t interesting.  I mean, I’ve never even had my first kiss.”

     “What?”

     Now full on laughing, “You heard me right.”

     He shifted her closer, “Well, I guess I’ll have to rectify that.”  His engine began revving in a manner similar to an encouraging murmur, that had her engine joining in.  Sides angled her so their faces were together, and took a moment for his electromagnetic field to comfort and caress her.  Free felt her cooling systems kick on higher, as his fore helm touched hers briefly, before a small blue bolt of energy crossed the distance that had her processor reeling.

 

* * *

  

     Aqua changed forms in a daze.  She was suddenly brought out her musings when she felt a jolt of odd energy across the bond.  It left her emitting an audible gasp, which had Sunny, now in Cybertronian form, give her a look.  “Aqua, are you feeling alright?”

     Aquastreak's head snapped toward his voice, and realized that she's been silent this whole time.  “Uh yes.  Just wondering what the pit your brother is doing to Free.  I felt the strangest energy coming from her just now.”

     Sunny, knowing exactly what Sides was doing, smirked to himself.  “She's not in danger, do not worry.  So, what do you think?”

     “Your story is amazing!  I can't believe what happened with that Youth Sector; that's absolutely horrible!  I don't even think places like that exist here, though I could be wrong.  And you're an actual painter!  Did any paintings survive of Cybertron or other places you visited?  I always wanted to see what Cybertron looks like!  Do you have any new ones yet?  What do you paint w-?”

     “Whoa, whoa, femme!  Slow down, you're making my processor overload with all these questions!”  Sunstreaker took a seat in a grassier patch, and chuckled a bit at her excitement, secretly pleased and encouraged by the fact that he was able to bring out this much interest towards himself in his to-be sparkmate.  “I'll answer your questions only after you tell me your story.  And, I was actually asking your opinion about this area being my first depiction of Earth.”

     Taking a seat beside him, Aqua laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.  “Oh.  Well, I think it's sweet you finally found something on our dear Planet Dirt beautiful enough to paint.”

     “Ha!  Nice nickname, and I am beginning to think that this planet has redeeming qualities.  I, however, will only make it look better.”

     Aqua faced him, straddled one his outstretched legs, and poked his chest plate.  “You know what?  I think you left out the part from your story where you became so vain, mech.”

     Internally, processing Sunstreaker thought, “Tease me, femme.  You're starting a dangerous game.”  He leaned in; invading her space just enough to hear her cooling fans switch on.  “You are drawn to it, like many others.”  He took the offending digit and held it, smirking, “And watch the paint, unless you want to give me another wax job.”  Aqua felt her spark flaring again.  She wanted a change of subject, and soon. 

     She crossed her servos in a huff.  “As if.  I thought you wanted to hear my story.”  She started to move away, but he placed a servo on her hip, indicating that it was okay for her to sit on his leg.

     “Then start telling it.” 

     Looking up at the sociopathic mech, Aqua took a breath.  “I was born in a small town in southern Hungary.  I lived with my mother and grandmother, since my father was never around.  I never had a lot of friends, but that gave me more time with my family.  We were best friends with our neighbors.  I loved our little town; it had so much culture for such a small place.  My father died when I was eight.  For five years, I went to a rather famous school that focused on music, before moving to America in 2001 with my mom.  We didn't intend on staying long term at first, but it was eventually too expensive to go back.  So, I was enrolled in school and learned English.  My mom found a guy, they got married, and we moved to the town where I met Free.  We had a lot in common, though our academic strengths differed greatly; she was good at science and math, where I was into music and languages.  We both loved the Asian culture.  She got me into the plots and music of the video games she played, and I got her into anime.  In fact, in high school, Free and I wrote, I think, at least 20 fan fiction stories about our favorites, with her bringing the comedy, and me bringing the romance.  She and I, with Erik, another friend, were the constant threesome everyone knew; we were inseparable.  We kept in touch through college, graduated at the same time, and hung out a lot after that.  I became a linguist with a music degree, and Free became a biological scientist.  She was just showing me her new lab, when the events that brought us to you, started...  It's not exactly as exciting as your past, but there it is.”  Sunstreaker listened carefully, his processor already selecting topics from her general summary, to talk about later.

 

* * *

  

     Sides rested his helm against Free’s, before asking, “So, how was it?”

     Following her human habits, Free snuggled closer to the mech, still avoiding their chest plates from directly touching, “Well, wow.  I guess your practice paid off.”

     For once Sideswipe found himself enjoying the tactile nature of the humans, as he possessively wrapped his arms around her, “Who’s to say that I’m not just a great kisser?”

     A laugh, “Sorry to say that life is not a videogame, and so you can't, not, have “Great Kisser” as part of your personality.  Meaning you had to have kissed someone else before me.”

     His engine hummed, “Double negative, so I can have that as a part of my personality.  So, when’d you get cynical?”

     “Bah, grammar.  Anyway, I’m not cynical I’m practical.  Just like normality is just a definition.”  Free explained, poking a somewhat exposed wire, making him grunt.

     He shifted his hand, to cover hers, “Watch your hands femme, unless you want to have your other firsts now.”

     “Acting like Daisy-yellow now?”  Free asked, making Sides burst out laughing.

     “Now, this is why I just want to know you better.  You’re so innocent, and yet you’re so not.  It always makes everything interesting.”  Sides responded, bringing his helm back down to kiss her again.


	22. Red with Envy

* * *

 

 

     It was late when Optimus was about to leave his office.  Briefing Sam and Bumblebee took up most of his day.  Looking forward to an overdue defrag cycle, he walked to the door, careful of the sounds he made for the sleeping human soldiers, only to be intercepted by a shorter red mech.

     “Optimus, are you free?”  Dino asked, stepping in the Prime’s escape route.

     Internally groaning, Optimus stepped aside to allow Dino in, “I have some time to spare.  What do you need?”

     Oblivious to his leader’s needs, Dino turned to Prime as the door closed, “I want to lodge a complaint against the twins.”

     Almost immediately, Optimus started processing along the lines of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, but quickly remembered Aquastreak and Freeride, to ask, “Which ones?”

     He raised a brow ridge, servos crossed against his chest, “Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, of course.  I haven’t even been able to speak with the femmes, to know them well enough, to even try to lodge a complaint.  Every time I am free and try to follow your advice to interact with them, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have already whisked them away to some other portion of the base.”

     Optimus vaguely listened to the mech as he continued complaining about Sideswipe and Sunstreaker hoarding all of Freeride and Aquastreak’s time.  He had, of course, been informed by Ratchet about the growing affection between the two sets of twins, and approved of the interaction, as it was decreasing the amount of time the mechs spent in the brig.  He also knew that the femmes were not singularly spending their time with the twins, as he had often picked up on Freeride’s signal going to the laboratory, as well as Aquastreak’s time with Ratchet.  “Dino, I understand your frustration.  I would recommend that you are fully functional early in the morning, so that you may assist Sideswipe in the additional instruction Freeride may need, with her swords.  Understood?”

     Dino nodded, accepting that this was probably the best he was going to get, as the twins were still the femmes’ guardians, “Thank you, Optimus.  Enjoy your evening.”  Venting, Optimus resolved to send an apology to Ratchet sometime tomorrow, as he headed to his berth, finally able to rest.

 

* * *

 

 

     At six in the morning, the two femmes left their room to begin their new round of training.  Aqua went to the Autobot command room for her integration into the communications network, and Free was off to the tarmac, where she would work with Sideswipe on her blade skills. 

     Receiving a message from Ratchet, Free quickly turned the corner, heading down to the med bay.  She stood outside the door, and barely knocked before Ratchet called out, door opening, “Freeride, just who I wanted to see.”

     Free smirked at the medic, as she jumped back onto the lowered berth, her previously stressed servo held out, “I guess this is about my servo.”

     The door slid shut and locked, as Ratchet took the offered servo gently, “Partially.”  He quickly ran the tests on the appendage, finding it to be back to perfect working order.  “Your servo is fully repaired.  You are free to proceed with your training; just watch out, it could be a little sore.  Anyway, the other item I wanted to see you about is, have you talked to your sister recently?”

     Confused about what he could want, she asked, “About what?”

     He vented, while rolling his optics, “Her spark’s chosen.”

     “Oh, the sparkmate thing,” Free stated, realization dawning on her.  “Yeah, we had a nice little talk about that.”

     Optic ridge raised, he asked, “Really?”

     “Yep, she’s got the total hots for Sunny, and I believe he knows it, and feels it too.  In fact, I think they make a cute couple.”

     Ratchet shuttered his optics at her declaration, as she stood up, “And yourself?”

     Free shyly looked away, “I’ve … got someone in mind.  Why are you asking?”

     Ratchet leaned back against the counter, “I am merely keeping an update on all the mechs and femmes on this base, so I know who to expect demands and threats from, when someone is injured.  Also, to know how many will be in my med bay, and possibly in the way.”

     Whirring as means to whistle, Free looked at the medic, “Wow, your med bay’s gonna have standing room only.”  She stretched, before siding to the door, “I’ve got some exercises to go through, and don’t wanna be late.”

     Ratchet unlocked the door, and as she stepped out, he remarked, “You and Sideswipe will be trouble.”  Free stopped, shocked at the mech, before giving him the one finger salute, and driving off in her alt mode.

 

* * *

 

 

     Aqua felt Free’s invasion of privacy, and nearly laughed out loud when, the mentioned twin started calling Ratchet a “nosy, snarky, smart ass medic” over their bond.  Ultra Magnus glanced over to the femme, “Aquastreak, are you functioning properly?”

     Waving the mech off, she continued listening to Prowl, “My sister is just being herself.”

     “Ah.”  Magnus responded awkwardly, realizing how little anyone, aside from Ratchet and the twins, knew the femmes. 

     Prowl’s door wings twitched to show his irritation, as he continued on, “Most of our communications network is a hybrid of Cybertronian and Human tech.”  The SIC’s voice ventured into the realms of a near monotone, as he continued his lecture of the current communications system.

 

* * *

 

 

     Sides looked up from the protective braces he had been arranging, when he heard Free’s engine, and watched her graceful shift out of the corvette.  “You’re looking in fine form today.”

     “Me?  I’m psyched!”  Free responded, before picking up a random brace.

     Sides looked at her, excited that she was ready to go, “That’s a brace, when you extend your blades you slip that on over the top.  So instead of cutting a mech’s leg off, you’ll just give him a nasty dent.  It's a perfect tool for training, or for practice.”

     Free slid out one of her blades on her right servo, slid the brace on, and retracted the blade into its short sword configuration.  Watching the brace slip off, she remarked, “Doesn’t work on multiple length blades, though.”

     “Seems like it.  So, what lengths _do_ you have to work with?”  Sides asked, extending and disconnecting his swords, to slide braces up them.

     “I’ve got three on each servo,” Free answered, before showing the melee specialist the three lengths.

     Sides hummed at the selection, already in thought of her in battle, with her swords out, “I would recommend that you keep the dagger setting for non-combat purposes.  Getting that close to a ‘con could be pretty bad for you.  Dino will also have to be called in, to help you with using the short swords, as that is his expertise.  Well, let’s start working with a singular long sword, and go from there.”  He picked up one of his blades, quickly locking it into the socket on his wrist, to leave his servo free during the spar.  Free stepped back, disconnecting it from the servo, to hold the blade with two servos, immediately striking a stance used in kendo.  The two went at it, neither creating any dents on the other, as they were both able to dodge, and parry all strikes.  Sideswipe was beyond pleased at her existing skill, and quickly switched over to using both swords at once.

     Free vented after the second round of sparring, some of the gathered soldiers cheering her on.  She was finding the spars difficult, as most of her expertise was in making the swords, rather than using them. 

     Sides rolled up to his femme, his spark flaring even harder against his spark chamber at how well versed she was with swords.  Remembering what Ironhide had always told him about Chromia, it made him acknowledge his spark’s decision even more firmly, as he stated, “You have skills above and beyond what I was expecting.”

     Her cooling systems roared on to cool her frame, and show her embarrassment, as she awkwardly replied, “Thanks Sides.”

     “Ah, yes, it is good to see that you have promise in using your blades.  But how are you with your short swords?”  Dino asked, as he walked up with a swagger in his step.

     Turning to face the mech, some of his battle protocols activating to protect Freeride, Sides commented, “Dino, it’s nice to see you off duty.”

     Dino picked up a couple of braces, sliding them onto the dual blades on his arms, “Same to you, Sideswipe.  Prime asked me to assist you today, as you have little experience in using short swords.”  Free rolled her shoulders as she retracted the blades to their short sword form.  Dino’s blades flipped around to the combat-oriented position, and she watched his movements as she re-secured the braces on the swords.  Dino stepped forward into an easier position to attack, and he stated at a level that only Freeride could hear it, “Don’t worry about your cooling system, Freeride, many femmes had it activate, when I walked into the area.”

 

* * *

 

 

     Aquastreak felt Free’s aggravation, from her place at a monitor.  The monitor was connected to the central hub of the communications network, which allowed her access into any computer, speaker, or any Autobot’s communications link.  She quickly tapped out the newly downloaded code, to pull up the view of one of the cameras that showed where her sister was sparing with Dino, and replace the view she had of Sunstreaker, as he was assisting the Wreckers with some minor maintenance on the Axalon.  Ultra Magnus, his attention caught by the spar, quickly commented, “Your sister’s doing pretty well.”

     She gave a burst of static as a snort, “Yeah, though she prefers to make blades to actually using them.”  Free extended her wheels on the video, and skated back away from the larger mech, twisting and avoiding his charge, to give him a medium sized dent across his thigh.

     Magnus nodded, “The Wreckers are the same way.”  Dino straightened, as Free skated back out of his reach, and he launched his blades at the femme.  His right blade missed, as his left blade managed to wrap the heavy line it was attached to, around Free’s waist.

     Prowl looked up from his console, battle computer already supplying him with odds, “Dino has a seventy-five percent chance of coming out as the victor of the spar, thirteen percent chance of losing without further injury, and twelve percent chance of losing the spar, and being confined to med bay for repairs.”

 

* * *

 

 

     Free retracted her wheels, digging her heels into the tarmac, as Dino retracted his lines to pull her closer.  Once she was close enough, he firmly grabbed her elbow, careful of the spikes in her armor, as his line pulled away from her waist.  His other hand slid down to her lower back.  “What a revving frame you have.  I would greatly enjoy seeing it on my berth.”  Her engine growled, as his servo slid lower.

     “Get your servo off of me.”  Free growled.

     “C’mon, what’s one little round of interface, or does your twin have to be in on it as well?  I don't have a problem with that.”  Dino asked, enjoying the closeness of her frame.

     Feeling ready to purge, Free tried pulling back.  Sideswipe let his engine growl, startling the soldiers next to him, as Epps commented from in the crowd, “Dude’s blind to see that she’s not enjoying this.”  Free remembering her personal defense, and not completely sure it would work, jerked her knee up into Dino’s hip joint.  He cried out, more in shock than pain, his grip on her arm tightening uncomfortably, making her jerk her knee up again.  That time, she hit an energon line, dying one of her spikes blue, as she pulled out a couple wires, when she pulled her knee loose.  He released her arm and reached back to deliver a punch that never hit its target, as Free extended, and spun her wheels to strike the back of his injured leg, making him drop to a knee.

     She continued her motion as she spun back around, her right sword extending all the way out, and held her blade to his neck cables, making him fearful of her.  She growled out, sword held in position, “I win this spar, and you are to never touch me again.  Also, don’t even think that Aquastreak will be as gentle as I was.”

 

* * *

 

 

     Aqua vented, trying to calm Free over the bond, “Damn right I won't.  Well, she’s royally pissed.”

     Prowl’s door wings twitched, facial plates in a stern frown, “Disgraceful, and harassing a femme.”

     Magnus leaned back from his position, as Freeride walked away from the partially disabled mech, Sideswipe close behind in a protective manner, on the camera feed.  “Mechling’s gonna catch it from Ratchet when he goes to get that line fixed.”

     Prowl nodded, before taking his command role again, “Aquastreak, contact Sunstreaker to have him assist Dino to the med bay, and inform Ratchet of his incoming patient.”  He began to leave the room to report the incident to Prime, and turned around at the door, “Oh, and inform him of the events that placed Dino in his care.”

     Magnus vented, frame giving an unconscious shake, “Aqua, that is why you never frag Prowl off.  Despite mostly being an unemotional wall, the mech has a vindictive streak from here to Cybertron.”

     “I dunno, Magnus.  That wall is holding a heck of a lot back, I can feel it.  Duly noted, though,” Aqua replied, opening a link to Sunstreaker.

     Ratchet spent the next two days pounding the dents, courtesy of Sunstreaker and a small selectively blind spot of the cameras, out of Dino, who spent an additional two days in stasis, after the CMO was finished berating the mech for harassing a femme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but hey, two chapters for you all. Either way, we have a pervy Dino, and some nice awkward conversations.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated!


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